Max Verstappen says his big crash at Monaco helped him to find a new level in formula one.<\/p>\n
Many people – particularly 17-year-old rookies – might have been forgiven for giving in to fear as Monaco’s fearsome Ste Devote barrier loomed large at well over 200kph.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t have time to think very much,” the young Dutchman laughed to Brazil’s Globo.\u00a0 “The only thing I thought was to get ready for a very big impact.”<\/p>\n
But when it was over, Verstappen says he actually found a new source of confidence, notwithstanding those who criticised him.<\/p>\n
“After the accident,” he explained, “I understood more about the car, and F1.\u00a0 I realised, for example, that the car is really safe and you can really give everything.<\/p>\n
“After Monaco I had a leap of performance because I could change my concept of the limit,” added Verstappen.<\/p>\n
While some continue to worry about Verstappen’s age, inexperience and apparent bravado, the Toro Rosso driver himself is confident he is ready.<\/p>\n
“Many boys would like to do what I’ve done,” he said.\u00a0 “But it is quite difficult, which is something I can say honestly.<\/p>\n
“I had the opportunity to learn a lot from a young age from a father who was an F1 driver.\u00a0 It’s a school that other boys don’t really have.<\/p>\n
“My experience at 17 is much higher than other guys of the same age.”<\/p>\n
Verstappen’s controversial debut, however, motivated the FIA to clamp down on its super licence rules.<\/p>\n
And now the governing body is moving to similarly clamp down on its premier F3 class, following a spat of dangerous crashes in 2015.<\/p>\n
Asked if he agrees that F3 drivers should get more experience in the junior classes below it, Verstappen said: “Yes, I agree.\u00a0 After the serious accidents we have seen, which is really not positive for F3, I think it’s important.”<\/p>\n
That might sound contradictory, given that between late 2013 and late 2014, Verstappen rose all the way from karts to the very pinnacle of motor sport.<\/p>\n
“When I think about it,” Verstappen admitted, “I am impressed at the speed at which things have happened to me.\u00a0 I don’t think it’s easy to do what I have done.”<\/p>\n
He is also thriving in the high-pressure environment of the Red Bull programme, run by the blunt and often brutal taskmaster Dr Helmut Marko.<\/p>\n
“Honestly I don’t feel it,” Verstappen said, when asked about the pressure, and the criticism.\u00a0 “I’ve never felt it.\u00a0 I just focus on doing my best.<\/p>\n
“Other drivers, the media — everyone can say what they want about me.\u00a0 Of course, I have great support from the team, which is very important.<\/p>\n
“But in the end, you have to believe the most in yourself and not care about what they’re saying about you.”<\/p>\n
He is confident, for example, that with the current Mercedes, he would be matching Nico Rosberg and even Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n
“Definitely.\u00a0 100 per cent for sure,” said Verstappen.\u00a0 “If I had a chance like that, I don’t think I would have trouble making the most of it.”<\/p>\n
He has already been linked with a sensational move to Ferrari, and even the 17-year-old is not ruling it out.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know,” said Verstappen when asked if he will be at Toro Rosso in 2016.\u00a0 “If other opportunities come up, of course I will think about it.<\/p>\n
“At the moment I am happy where I am.\u00a0 As for next year, I don’t know.\u00a0 I have a contract with Red Bull but it’s difficult to predict what will happen.”<\/p>\n
\u00a9 RIF | GMM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Max Verstappen says his big crash at Monaco helped him to find a new level in formula one. Many people – particularly 17-year-old rookies – might have been forgiven for giving in to fear as Monaco’s fearsome Ste Devote barrier loomed large at well over 200kph. “I didn’t have time to think very much,” the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[3],"tags":[5262,5300,5340,5063,259],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30339"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30339"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30340,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30339\/revisions\/30340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}