[Driver] Max Verstappen should NOT race in F1 for 2015

[Mekola]

... unless he has 18 years old.

FIA is incoherent with the matter to give a F1 debut for a teenager, too young in order for the same FIA 2016 standards. It's an oxymoron in case to avail that.

Better give the seat to Jean-Eric Vergne, Sébastien Buemi or any other RBR driver with experience and more matureness in the seat.

This madness must stop.

[FIRE]

Some people are mature at age 17, some not before their late 20s and some will never be.

He got his super license in October. The new age rules are introduced in 2016 so I don't see the problem.

[F1 lobby]

Originally Posted by Mekola

This madness must stop.

This madness what you're spilling out must stop right now.
For all those haters who are just jaleous he'll proof you all soo wrong. That lucky dutch guy has got already one record before he even started his first race and the next one will be at least one podium if not a win in his debut year as youngest f1 driver ever

[NaBUru38]

FIA shouldn't ban a driver in February.

I think that F1 drivers should be at least 20 years old, and have two years of experience above F3.

[MCWB]

I don't see how you can say with such authority that it's madness. Austin Cindric is sixteen and matched or out-drove many seasoned pros at the Bathurst 12 hour this weekend. Let's see what happens.

[Mekola]

Is not jealousy, is the manic reduction of age that worries me. Even if it were an Argentinean driver I won't agree that could race at age 17 in F1.

[GT6]

F1 must have considered the result of allowing Max to race but i still think that if there is an accident involving Max and either he or another driver are hurt it will give some parties a very big stick with which to beat F1

[Pontlieue]

I have no doubts that Max Verstappen is ready for F1. He has done several free practice sessionswithout embarassing himself. At the very least he is far more ready than many older drivers who were allowed to run in F1 in the past. Does anyone honestly believe that Yuji Ide, Alex Yoong, Jean-Denis Deletraz or Giovanni Lavaggi were more ready for it? Why should Max Verstappen not race, when aging paydrivers with far less junior series credentials were allowed to do so?

I'm not convinced that it was a smart decision by Verstappen. Look at Alguersuari, who also joined F1 at a very young age, and then was dropped by Toro Rosso at an age were most young drivers are still in GP2. But his decision is understandable. Today, there are less and less F1 seats available, while the average career has become longer. It is more difficult to get into F1 than ever before, and I don't think you can blame him for taking this opportunity.

Also, I think it's weird how people are more worried about the impact on F1's reputation than about Max Verstappen himself.

[wnut]

If he is good enough; and I believe he is; he should be in F1, and no artificial rules should keep him out!

If F1 has been dumbed down to the point where it feels embarrassed by a young driver achieving success, it has clearly been dumbed down to the point where its champion should not be titled the WDC!


Again look at the whining when Marc Marquez was allowed into MotoGP, how did that go?

[bauble]

My view is that if a 17/18 year old can drive a Formula 1 car then there is something wrong with Formula 1. It should take many years experience to get to the level required to handle a proper F1 car because they should be difficult and, yes, even dangerous to drive. It would appear that a quick season in karting and; Bang! You are a Grand Prix driver.

I am quite happy that Verstappen drives for Toro Rosso, why not? Any kid can drive one these days, they are far too easy to handle.

It would be fun to watch these guys handle something like a 1951 Alfa Romeo on a tree lined, soaking wet Spa. Then you would sort the men from the boys.
Back then racing really was dangerous, today it's child's play.


So back to the original point; Verstappen should not be capable of driving in Formula 1, rather than banned because of his age.

Fell free to disagree.

Bauble.

[garcon]

Originally Posted by bauble

My view is that if a 17/18 year old can drive a Formula 1 car then there is something wrong with Formula 1. It should take many years experience to get to the level required to handle a proper F1 car because they should be difficult and, yes, even dangerous to drive. It would appear that a quick season in karting and; Bang! You are a Grand Prix driver.

I am quite happy that Verstappen drives for Toro Rosso, why not? Any kid can drive one these days, they are far too easy to handle.

It would be fun to watch these guys handle something like a 1951 Alfa Romeo on a tree lined, soaking wet Spa. Then you would sort the men from the boys.
Back then racing really was dangerous, today it's child's play.


So back to the original point; Verstappen should not be capable of driving in Formula 1, rather than banned because of his age.

Fell free to disagree.

Bauble.

Without wishing to sound too much like an old git who's living in the past, I feel compelled to agree.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by bauble

My view is that if a 17/18 year old can drive a Formula 1 car then there is something wrong with Formula 1. It should take many years experience to get to the level required to handle a proper F1 car because they should be difficult and, yes, even dangerous to drive. It would appear that a quick season in karting and; Bang! You are a Grand Prix driver.

Originally Posted by Flavio Galtieri

Feeder series will be irellevent if any young well-connected Max can step into a Formula One car after go karts and a few FR/F3 races.

Why would you bother putting the expense of your young charge through all the rigours and risk of F4/3 GP3/GP2?

Unfortunately I agree.

[Aysedasi]

Actually, I tend to agree with that..... Damn. I think that's twice I've agreed with you recently......

[bauble]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Actually, I tend to agree with that..... Damn. I think that's twice I've agreed with you recently......

That merely underlines your good judgement and plain common sense.

I do thank you for your valued support.


Bless you,

Bauble.

[bauble]

"rather than bitter, grumbly old men watching the sands of time slipping away."

Oi! Watch it!

[kipper]

I sort of see the rationale behind the argument in the original post is that the FIA has said that from 2016; all F1 drivers should be at least 18. As a consequence, it is possible to extrapolate the view that there are some concerns with regards to 17 year olds racing.

However, the rule book currently allows Verstappen to race and given his performances in F3 and testing, he will be probably do, at least, OK. As a consequence, I don't really see any problem with him racing.

That said, I'd imagine that Toro Rosso would probably do better with say, Vergne, in the car due to the potential for less rookie mistakes; however, this is a decision for the team rather than the FIA.

[TheNo1F1Fan]

Originally Posted by Mekola

Better give the seat to Jean-Eric Vergne, Sébastien Buemi or any other RBR driver with experience

+1. In my opinion, if Vergne was not dropped from STR he would decide to stay at STR or be a driver at RBR alongside Ricciardo.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Max has F1 experience and has proven to be mature and fast. Something a lot of recent F1 drivers (including some current) haven't shown, or have shown very irregularly. Don't see a problem.

[Knowlesy]

If only it was like the old days when Chris Amon was debuting at 19.

Age is irrelevant. Experience is key. Verstappen has probably driven a billion races by now as he was karting in the womb with an F1 driver dad as a mentor.

It could go terribly badly, he could be another Alonso or Vettel. But thank god the people who make these driver decisions are forward thinking and risk takers rather than bitter, grumbly old men watching the sands of time slipping away.

[Born Racer]

It's a different time now. Drivers start younger than they used to. Most start in karting very young and the top ones are racing in seriously competitive series from an early age, so the process is shifted forward a few years. In that regard you could say that Rodriguez and McLaren should never have made their debuts aged 19.

That said, I think Toro Rosso have also learned because I think when Alguersuari made his debut, he was a bit underprepared. At least my recollection is that he was stroking it in Friday practice and still getting up to speed. I'm confident STR will have prepared Verstappen much better. Consider Kvyat - still young and after one season at STR, he's now in a Red Bull and most aren't batting an eyelid. In some regards, there's no substitute for experience but that's a good and not unsafe thing. A Jenson Button is going to sometimes triumph over a Max Verstappen or a Daniil Kvyat, due to said experience, so you're putting different drivers against each other.

[Knowlesy]

The scary thing is that people want old drivers in the midfield/backmarker teams.

Yeah, let's have Pedro de la Rosa instead of blooding the new generation further down the field.

Mind boggling stuff.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

The scary thing is that people want old drivers in the midfield/backmarker teams.

Yeah, let's have Pedro de la Rosa instead of blooding the new generation further down the field.

Mind boggling stuff.

Completely agree.

Verstappen has been outstanding in everything he's raced, more than a lot of recent F1 drivers as I've said. He may not have the experience but give him a season and we COULD have the next GP superstar. If not, then he'll be no worse than Max Chilton, Yuji Ide, Karun Chandhok and other recent F1 drivers.

I'd have Sainz Jr/Verstappen in F1 over Sutil/Gutierrez on pure talent...

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

The scary thing is that people want old drivers in the midfield/backmarker teams.

Yeah, let's have Pedro de la Rosa instead of blooding the new generation further down the field.

Mind boggling stuff.

Well said sir!

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

The scary thing is that people want old drivers in the midfield/backmarker teams.

Yeah, let's have Pedro de la Rosa instead of blooding the new generation further down the field.

Mind boggling stuff.

In principle, you are possibly right; however, in practice that might not be the case.

In most instances, and yes I am sure that there are and have been exceptions, these young guns have not fully developed the ability to help the engineers set up the cars to fully utilise their capabilities, whereas a driver such as de la Rosa is acknowledged as a an excellent development driver. It may be, and I would expect it, that he will be able to extract more from the car by way of set up than somebody who has not spent the hours that he has pounding round in testing in years gone by.

This is why, in the recent decades, most team bosses chose to elevate their test drivers to the race seat when it became available; they had experience which counted for a lot to the management. Nowadays, with extremely limited testing allowed, picking somebody like de la Rosa might be a good idea because he may be able to identify areas that might be able to be improved to push the team further up the grid whereas the young gun might not have the experience to identify the problems.

[TrapezeArtist]

I really have no idea whether Max Verstappen will do well or not. But that's not really the point. I utterly defend his right to be there.

When some youngsters in the 60s came into F1 at 19 or 20, they couldn't have more than a couple of years racing experience because there was no way to start until you were 17. The Verstappens of this world have been racing since they were 8 so they have accumulated a lot of experience. Obviously in their last couple of years before F1 they need to develop and prove themselves in something powerful and high downforce, but that is largely the responsibility of the team employing them to make sure that is right.