- Toro Rosso
Verstappen cares little for age records
Max Verstappen says his only focus ahead of his debut F1 appearance in Japan is the experience he can gain rather than the record he will break.
F1's youngest records
- To take part in a weekend: Sebastian Vettel, 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, 19 years and 53 days
- To start a race: Jaime Alguersuari, 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, 19 years, 125 days
Verstappen - who only turned 17 on October 1 - will break the record set by Sebastian Vettel for BMW in 2006 as the youngest driver to appear in a grand prix weekend when he replaces Jean-Eric Vergne at Toro Rosso for FP1. It is the first of several planned drives for teen prodigy Verstappen ahead of his full-time drive next year.
But despite the record he is about to shatter Verstappen is only thinking about how much he can take from his first session.
"Yeah, I think so," Verstappen said when asked by Sky Sports if he expected to sleep well ahead of his F1 debut. "I'm really relaxed. I'm not here to break records I'm here to gain experience so I think I'll sleep well. I know everyone is watching, but I just stay calm and am going to do my thing.
"For me this year there is nothing to win. I'm just preparing for next year. I need to get experience with the new type of engine because it's a bit different to the last few years so I need to make laps and get used to all this stuff."
The man who ultimately had the final say on Verstappen's elevation to F1, Helmut Marko, recently compared him to Ayrton Senna. Despite this lofty comparison before even turning an F1 steering wheel Verstappen admits he is not dwelling on what others are saying.
"Well, it's an honour Red Bull thinks I'm like that. For the moment I still have to prove it in F1, for sure. At the end you can't really compare[drivers]. I just have to do my thing and then we will see. For me it's not a problem. It's always nice to hear it but I'm only focused on what I need to do."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
