Verstappen, the driver that others didn’t like and changed the rules

At the age of 25, he is already a two-time world champion and has what it takes to continue dominating F1. But 7 years ago, his arrival in Formula 1 generated a lot of controversy. Max Verstappen he is the youngest in history to debut in F1 free practice at Japan 2014, at the age of 17 years and 5 days. A few months later, he made his debut as an official driver for Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) as the youngest in history to compete in a full GP (Australia 2015, at 17 years, 5 months and 15 days), the first Grand Prix of his ‘rookie’ season in F1. His arrival caused much debate. I did it very young and with only 27 races of experience aboard a single-seater (in Formula 3).

“For me, a 17-year-old driver is too young to debut in Formula 1. But that’s just my personal opinion, I might be wrong.”He said Ricciardo.

“I think so Max is insulted. Does Red Bull realize they are putting a child in F1? I don’t doubt that he is fast, but he is inexperienced. I came to F1 when I was 25 years old, after winning Indycar. Before fighting with others, you have to learn, and the role of F1 is not to teach”, said the former driver Jacques Villeneuve. You should go to F1 as a winner and with a lot of experience. Apparently anyone can drive an F1 car, while the pilots of my father’s day were considered heroes at the wheel of almost impossible monsters. F1 impressed me when I arrived, even though I came from Indycar. But this is not F1″, added the Canadian, harshly.

However, there is someone who does not want to judge him who is now asking the exact same thing of driving at the highest level with 41 years in F1. Fernando Alonso I am clear: “I think age is just a number on the passport. You have to be ready for the challenge and the F1 GGPPs. Some are at 17, others at 28. That’s what we don’t know.”

“Before we talk, we have to see how Verstappen is next year, and after six or eight races we will see if he is ready or not,” Fernando clarified in 2014.

Also Nico Rossberg he defended: “It’s great to see that if you have the talent and you deserve it, you can get into this sport. There are some recent examples of people getting into Formula 1. This is a good and important thing. Of course, he’s still young, but I think he’ll do well.”

“I was 19 years old when I arrived. But everything starts from scratch when it comes to F1. I don’t know but I think 18 is probably on the edge. But who can say anything? It is his seat and he will sit down to do something with it”, he pointed out. Daniil Kvyat, who a year later, in 2016, Max Verstappen will remove his seat from the Red Bull team. But until that moment, there were many criticisms and the beginnings were not easy.

F1 entry rules changed

Before the beginning of the 2015 academic year, due to this debate, the FIA ​​decided to change the regulations and tighten the requirements for a driver to obtain an F1 super license. All, to prevent another Verstappen case from happening in the future. So, in 2016 an eminimum age of 18 years to drive F1. Furthermore, it is necessary to have circulation permit and added 40 points to the lower category. All, to ensure that a driver reaches the highest category of motorsports in the world with a sufficient number of tests, kilometers and experience and not just because of talent.

Verstappen’s response to the FIA

Max didn’t hesitate to answer. “A 15 or 16-year-old is not ready for Formula 1. He should be in karting. So I understand what the FIA ​​did, but I’m glad I have a contract. You will only know if you are ready for Formula 1 when you enter a Formula 1. In this sense, I took a risk because I signed without driving a meter in an F1”, he commented. “Everyone can have an opinion, but in the end it’s up to me to prove them wrong. I would have said the same there is a global trend of the sport. That is the case for example of Real Madrid, who signed a 16-year-old Norwegian player (Odegaard) “

“Those with talent should not close the door to F1. If these rules were in place, some would Kimi Raikkonen would not have started. Some are more prepared than others, something that was true in my case”, he added. Criticism of the pilot continued.

Monaco, accidents and more criticism

In his first The Monaco GP was dominated by an accident with Romain Grosjean. “The Verstappen thing shows that experience counts in F1”exclamation Philip Massa. “If he had been injured, everyone would have thought ‘why do they give a license to a 17-year-old? Why is he doing that?’,” reflected the Brazilian, calling what Max did “quite dangerous” because of his aggressive driving: “he braked in the back, later, luckily he was not injured”. Max didn’t apologize for crashing into the Frenchman’s car. Instead, he blamed him for deliberately braking too soon and reiterated to Canada that he had done nothing wrong.

“To say they deliberately stopped you is serious,” Button criticized. However, as the races went on, with a good second half of the course, where he scored points in 8 of the last 10 races and added two fourth places, rivals went from criticizing him to fearing him. to him for his aggressiveness. .

In 2016, the ‘Verstappen rule’

In 2016, Red Bull promoted him to his first team after only 23 races of F1 experience, and at first, he won in Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​ youngest driver to win at just 18 years and 7 months. Max continues his aggressive drive and unshakable character. And in that first year in a competitive car, it forced another rule change. Pilots complained about the way Verstappen was braking and the FIA ​​took action: he warned about it “It is not possible to change direction during braking if it forces another competitor to make a move to avoid it”. The race director himself, Charlie Whiting, called it “the Verstappen rule”.

“Many complain. I just believe that this is a new way of running, that everyone should do it, but now they put a rule and we have to follow it”, said Max. Although that rule was finally removed after a year, in 2017, to reduce the number of investigations and examine only “truly dangerous situations.”

Another regulation changed by Max: The ‘Safety Car’

Max had to temper his enthusiasm little by little, as it brought him criticism and even doubt within Red Bull in 2018, like in Monaco. That was the main change that brought him a certain step forward. He remained tough, belligerent and always behaved with the utmost stupidity, and this forced the FIA ​​to change another rule, in this case, to action under the ‘Safety Car’ regime.

Naa highlights after the safety car in 2021, Verstappen pressed his opponents to the maximum, reaching parallel before the restart, because the only thing that prevented him from overtaking his rival in that situation was the regulation, but did not side with his side. And the FIA ​​is back in action for this 2022. To avoid risks, he announced the ban on partially overcoming the rear wing of the opponent in front of him during the safety of the vehicle.start something complicated reaching them.

Max is not just a great talent, a true champion or someone who can break all the records. He is a different pilot, full of grit, instinct, strong character and a lot of mischief. He went to F1 to change it.