Max Verstappen says it was better for him to develop his skills in Formula 1 rather than competing in junior categories.
The Dutchman became the sport’s youngest ever driver when he drove for Toro Rosso aged just 17 in 2015, having first taken part in an official session during first practice in Japan the year before.
His arrival would lead to the creation of the current superlicence points system and a minimum age of 18 to be introduced in an effort to ensure young drivers gained more experience.
But Verstappen is sure he took the right path.
“I only had one year of F3 experience,” he noted to Racer. “Of course you make some mistakes in Formula 1 which maybe other people did in juniors or whatever.
“But for me that’s fine, I prefer to be at the highest level and make the mistakes and learn from it, instead of being in the lower categories and then maybe do some mistakes that can cost you your career in Formula 1.”
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Now in his fifth season, the 21-year-old has managed to fulfil the potential which led to his very rapid rise into F1 and despite his still young age, he sees no problem in his new role as the lead driver at Red Bull and the responsibility which comes with it.
“Personally, I always feel like I can feel what the car is doing,” he explained. “For my age anyway, I’m very experienced at that because of working with my dad from a very young age, trying to give good feedback.
“So I never felt like it was a big pressure or anything to maybe step it up a bit within the team because I felt like I was already giving the right information.”