Why Max Verstappen Was F1’s Most Exciting Driver In 2015

F1 2015 was the definition of ‘meh’, but there were still a fair few exciting moments and some good performances, particularly from one driver competing in his debut season with Toro Rosso: Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton may have dominated for Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel put in some brilliant drives for Ferrari and we saw flashes of brilliance from the likes of Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez, but there is no denying the fact that Max Verstappen was F1’s most exciting driver in 2015.

Prior to his maiden F1 race in Australia, opinions were split on whether Toro Rosso had made the right decision in letting a 17-year-old teenager who couldn’t even legally drive a road car loose with F1 machinery.

Unbelievably he was still racing karts back in 2013 and only competed in one single seater season, moving straight into Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing. Verstappen, who is the son of ex-Benetton, Stewart and Minardi F1 racer ‘Jos the Boss’, immediately made an impact, winning 10 races (including six consecutive victories) and finishing third overall.

Quite a year for a driver who had only previously sampled Formula Renault 2.0 and Florida Winter Series cars. He proved to be brave and ballsy with his overtaking, using his karting experience, and did enough to impress Red Bull, who picked him to join its junior programme in August.

In fact, Red Bull wasn’t the only development programme knocking on his door. Mercedes was also interested, but six days later we found out why he made his decision. Toro Rosso confirmed his promotion to F1 and it unsurprisingly sparked a media storm – why wouldn’t it? He was set to become the sport’s youngest ever driver and many were critical of the team’s decision.

Boy, did Verstappen prove the critics wrong. Toro Rosso’s season was plagued by reliability issues but the teenager still managed to score points on 10 occasions, most of those results arriving in the second half of the year. There were some rough patches, such as putting it in the wall a few times – like in Monaco where he suffered a huge smash at Turn 1 after clipping Grosjean – but it wouldn’t be a rookie season without mistakes.

The most eye-catching thing about Verstappen’s season wasn’t his raw pace or clear speed behind the wheel of a powerful F1 machine, but his car control and race craft. It is far from polished and errors were made, but we saw some incredible saves and slides from the youngster and also some truly amazing overtakes.

He has won a number of awards already over the winter break for his passing manoeuvres and it is hardly surprising, especially with so much choice. From going around the outside of Felipe Nasr at the insanely quick Blanchimont during the Belgian Grand Prix, to passing Sergio Perez on the outside line at the ‘Senna S’ curve in Brazil. We witnessed some masterful displays, which were often the highlight of the race.

It is hard to really believe he is only 18 and has just passed his driving test. What was I doing when I was 18? Failing my own driving test (I did eventually pass at the third attempt), quietly blogging away and studying for my A Levels at Sixth Form. Meanwhile Verstappen has been tearing up the race track in front of millions of people, putting smiles on faces and displaying amazing natural ability at the wheel of an F1 car. Quite a year.

If there is one thing I will remember from the 2015 season, it is probably Verstappen. He still has a long way to go, but a rough diamond he certainly is. A very valuable and expensive one at that. We saw big developments throughout the year, proved by two fourth place results, and a podium is surely around the corner next season.