Max receives superlicense, Jos: "Lap times are irrelevant at this stage."

Published on 29 September 2014 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen and his father Jos have arrived at Suzuka in Japan. With the FIA granting Max his superlicense, all obstacles to make his free practice début in Japan are overcome. Max will use the next few days to acclimatise and get used to the different time zone as he prepares for his outing in FP1 during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend on Friday.

The first F1 session of the weekend will take place from 02:00 am till 03:30 am BST. It will be the first time Max shares the track with his fellow Formula 1 colleagues. Father Jos hopes people do not have unrealistic expectations. “Nobody can expect that Max is going to set the world on fire.” It is going to be Max' first first time in a 2014-spec after the Red Bull Junior completed a test session at the Adria International Raceway in an STR7, the 2012-spec Scuderia Toro Rosso racer. 

“Everyone in the world of motor sport will pay attention to Max as he takes to the track in a car that is new to him. On top of that, he starts at Suzuka, not an easy circuit. That's why he needs to take it easy and stay away from the limit. Toro Rosso shares this opinion. Team boss Franz Tost told Max to enjoy every lap and not to go all out”, explains Jos.

“We all know that Max has the speed and that he's a racer, otherwise he wouldn’t be in F1. However, he does need plenty of track time on a circuit he doesn’t know and in a car that is completely new to him. All the other drivers have had the chance to get used to their cars throughout the season so it would be unfair to compare Max to them at this stage.”

Jos continues: “He has to put in as many laps as possible in order to learn the car's behaviour, get used to the steering wheel and to get a feel for the car on the brakes and over the kerbs. In fact, it's more professional to put in plenty of laps, work through Toro Rosso's Friday schedule and give good feedback to the engineers, then to match his team mate's lap times. Fast laps won't gain him anything at the moment. He has to take it easy and wait till Melbourne to give it 100%."

This year is dedicated to prepare Max for the 2015 season, Jos stresses. “Max should be thankful he has the chance to drive some of the tracks that are new to him, during the Friday practice sessions. That experience will really benefit him next year. He's allowed to make mistakes so he can learn from them. And he deserves a bit of time to take in things and learn stuff because everything is new to him. That's why I’m not interested in his lap times. They matter next year.”