Former race engineer looks back on Max Verstappen’s first F1 car run[F1-Gate .com]

Former race engineer Max Verstappen, Sevi Puhyorer, says Verstappen felt “terrifying” in a good way when he first drove an F1 car.

Max Verstappen joined the Red Bull junior team in 2014 when he was 16 years old. Red Bull gave Toro Rosso the first chance to drive an F1 machine.

At that time, Sevi Puhyorer, who was an engineer for the team, was on the circuit. Looking back on the day, he remembers how well Max Verstappen handled the car on the rainy circuit.

“Seven years ago, we tested 148 laps at the Adria circuit in Italy on the 2012 STR7 for a total of over 500km,” Sevi Puhyorer told gazzeta.it.

“Still, he was very fast, and I remember the asphalt was wet most of the day, especially in the morning. For a rookie driver, riding a single-seater on a dangerous track like that one would be. It’s never the best. “

“But he mastered the machine in a terrifying way.”

Max Verstappen, who met the conditions of the F1 Super License in the test, ran Toro Rosso for the first free run of the F1 Japan GP held at Suzuka Circuit about a month later, and was the youngest in history to participate in the official race weekend. Became a driver of.

Max Verstappen was already very impressed with the team, but he set a time of less than 0.5 seconds for regular driver Daniil Kvyat at the time. Sevi Puhyorer says he actually witnessed Verstappen’s talent.

“Then he went on track at Suzuka. When I saw the time in the first sector of FP1, I told myself,’I like this guy,'” Sevi Puhyorer added.

“A few months ago, we took him to the spa, which gave him a better understanding of the team’s dynamics. Then, following Japan, all winters before their 2015 debut. I did a test. “

“In Belgium, we were very surprised at how he studied the details of the truck, where he could and couldn’t pass. He was analyzing everything. Others couldn’t even imagine. That was even analyzing aspects related to other drivers on the truck. “

“I noticed in him the same thing that Jos (Verstappen) was preparing for the race. It’s something I’ve never seen in any other driver. No one else in my career. Impressive dedication. ”

Category: Category: F1 / Max Verstappen / Red bull / Toro Rosso