scroll
Scroll downfor the latest news

Max satisfied after seatfitting in STR11

Published on 11 February 2016 by Mike Motilall

Today, Max Verstappen was for the first time in the STR11, the new car for 2016, at the Scuderia Toro Rosso factory. Three days, the 18-year old Dutchman was in Faenza this week, where he had his seatfitting on Wednesday. His team mate, Carlos Sainz, had his the previous day already.  

“On Monday, together with Carlos, we had some shoots for the team for the small clips that are put online, prior to every Grand Prix-weekend. That was great fun!”, as Max starts his talk with Verstappen.nl. Tuesday was scheduled with a lot of meetings regarding the new car. “About our targets, the concept behind the car, the progression made and new parts on the car. It all looks very exciting. There was a lot to talk about and discuss.”

For the first time, Max was in his new cockpit to do a seatfitting. “We made two seats. The team managed to pull that off very quickly and it all went fine.” The foaming of a seat is pretty time consuming, Max explains: “When the foam hardens after about fifteen minutes, the seat is trimmed and made smooth to get it perfect. That takes time. At the same time, we also took a look at the pedals, the steering height and my seating position.”

Max will continue his work this week in Switzerland, where he will have a medical checkup Thursday. During that check, his physical condition will be examined. On Friday, Max will be allowed to “drive” the new car, even though it’s only virtual.

“Friday, I am in the simulator at Red Bull and will be driving for the first time with the new 2016-set up. The simulator mimics the reality quite well, so I am pretty curious. How we will really fare on the tracks is a waiting game. We have a lot of updates and will see how far they can take us.”

“It has been some quite intensive months, during which I have prepared myself physically. I am ready for the new season, which will be very interesting. Hopefully we are able to score many points. I am very much looking forward to my second campaign in Formula 1!”