In 2015, Max Verstappen became the youngest Formula 1 driver in history, standing on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix aged 17 years and 166 days. Many thought the rise of the exceptional Dutch talent was too premature, but those who worked with him already knew how talented he was.
One of them was Graham Watson , then one of the bosses at Toro Rosso , where Verstappen made his debut. Speaking to the Dutch edition of Motorsport.com he recalls those moments: “A lot of people were saying: ‘These guys shouldn’t be allowed into the sport until they’ve had a bit of training’, which is nonsense.”
“The truth is, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. I think we were all a bit shocked that Max was so young, but Franz [Tost] and Helmut [Marko] have been around a lot longer and realized that he was, shall we say, exceptional in his generation, like Schumacher, Alonso or Hamilton. He was the right person to put him in the car.”
Max Verstappen impressed at his young age
Watson met Verstappen in September 2014, the year the then 17-year-old completed a pair of free practice sessions for Toro Rosso.
“I can tell he had a kind of aura about him,” the team manager explained. “It was very apparent from the moment he entered the garage and got into the car.”
He cites the 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix as an example: “He almost caused an accident on his first fast lap in early practice. But he got the car back, kept going, did another lap and was the fastest. That showed he believes in what he’s doing.” who knows what he’s doing.”
This impression was confirmed when Verstappen joined Toro Rosso as a regular driver in 2015. Watson also noted parallels with his father: “I already worked with Jos Verstappen at Benetton, so I had a connection to the Verstappen mentality.”
Mental strength sets Verstappen apart
“I’m sure his father told him that he has to do certain things if he wants to be treated as an equal or be the leader of the team. Knowing both of them, I see him a little more than others. I think Jos taught him and said: ‘Max, look, you have all the skills, but now you have to create the environment for yourself, like Michael [Schumacher] did at Benetton and Ferrari.’ “
However, along with this determination, Watson highlights another of Verstappen’s qualities, his nerves of steel. “Nothing rocked him,” he recalls. “Once I was talking to him about nerves and I said, ‘Max, how do you deal with nerves?’ and he said, ‘What do you mean?'”
“I tried again and said to him: ‘When you’re on the grid and the lights come on and you’re surrounded by Formula 1 drivers who have a lot more experience, don’t you get nervous?’ I thought, ‘Honestly, Graham, what I want to do is drive the car.'”
“He told me he had been driving since he was four years old, so by 17 he had a pretty long career and he knew how to handle the pressure in karting championships,” Watson said. Reflecting on his year and a half with Verstappen at Toro Rosso, he highlighted one moment in particular.
“It was in Singapore 2015: ‘I’m not going to let my teammate pass !’ , who had the freshest tires and was chasing Sergio Pérez .
“He wouldn’t let himself be overtaken by anyone,” Watson said of Verstappen. “It wouldn’t matter who’s driving the other car. And unfortunately, or luckily, that’s exactly how you become a world champion. You have to be selfish and direct on the track. If you don’t, you get eaten alive.”
“I see too many talented drivers who don’t make it because they’re good guys. You can be a good guy, but you have to be ruthless on the track,” insisted the 54-year-old, who is now AlphaTauri team principal and has closely followed the Verstappen’s career after his promotion to Red Bull.
How much has changed compared to the Verstappen of 2015?
“He’s much more mature, that’s for sure. With us, he was a teenager. It was always very easy for me to talk to him. He’s a humble guy, he has no arrogance. Even now in the paddock he always greets me. He hasn’t changed drastically, just You can tell he’s grown a lot.”
It showed on the track as well, Watson said: “He can still be aggressive, but he’s matured. He knows when to push and when to hold back.” With it, Verstappen had also learned from some incidents from 2017 and 2018, which he discussed with Watson.
“My advice was: ‘You have three tenths more in your pocket than most in Formula 1, so loosen up a tenth.’ You don’t have to find that last tenth every lap.’ I think he has matured as a driver. You can see his natural progression. He also drives with his head and not just with his right foot.”
