Looks Like Max (the good one) has now turned down Mercedes and joined the Red bull program. Star of the future? Also another F1 family star in the making?: http://www.inautonews.com/another-fittipaldi-on-path-to-f1
Max Verstappen will replace Jean-Eric Vergne from the start of next season Toro Rosso have revealed. The 16-year-old, who is the son of former F1 driver Jos, only graduated from karts this year and impressive performances in the European F3 Championship saw him join Red Bull’s junior programme at the start of August. Verstappen will be just 17 when he takes to the grid next year, becoming F1’s youngest ever driver. “First of all, I would like to thank Dr Helmut Marko and Red Bull for all their trust and giving me the chance to make my Formula 1 debut in 2015 with Scuderia Toro Rosso,” Verstappen said. “Ever since I was seven years old, Formula 1 has been my career goal, so this opportunity is truly a dream come true. “There are several people that have helped me throughout the years and still support me to this day and I want to sincerely thank them. First of all a big thanks to my father Jos, who has always been by my side, day and night, year after year. Of course I’m very thankful for all my sponsors who’ve believed in my talent and supported me in these financially difficult times. I hope that I can maintain a wonderful collaboration with them as I embark on this exciting new phase in my career. I also want to thank my manager Raymond Vermeulen, for all his efforts in making this agreement possible. Finally, thanks to all the teams in the various karting and single-seater categories for their vital help and support. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. “We’ve all worked tremendously hard to reach Formula 1 and I will give my absolute best to be successful in the pinnacle of motorsport. With the return of the Verstappen name to Formula 1, I hope we can relive old memories and I’m hoping to see many fans at all the Grand Prix circuits.” Despite his young age and relative lack of experience, Toro Rosso Team Principal Franz Tost feels Verstappen has already shown the mental strength needed to compete in F1. “We are happy to welcome Max into the Toro Rosso family,” Tost said. “It’s great to see how the Red Bull Junior Programme continues to find talented young drivers and gives them the opportunity to come into Formula 1. “We consider Max to be as one of the most skilled young drivers of the new generation and we believe he has the necessary maturity and mental strength to take on this challenge successfully. This year he has already demonstrated how well he can cope under difficult conditions. For example, at the Norisring and Nurburgring, he showed extraordinary determination and the ability to withstand pressure before going on to win. “Bearing in mind that Scuderia Toro Rosso was created with the aim of bringing young talent from the Red Bull Junior Team into Formula 1 and to educate them, it will now be up to us to provide Max with a competitive car, which will enable him to have the best possible start to his Formula 1 career.” The Austrian finished by thanking the outgoing Vergne for his three years of service with the team and revealed he hopes the Frenchman can impress in the second half of the season and secure himself a seat at another outfit. “With this in mind, I would also like to thank Jean-Eric Vergne for all his hard work,” he added. “He has produced strong performances, but unfortunately he was also hindered by some reliability problems, especially in the first half of the current season. “We hope that we have resolved these problems and that he will be able to end the second half of this season on a high note and thereby show that he still deserves another opportunity in Formula 1.”
Max is fast but that's not enough. Red Bull aren't exactly patient either. They don't need to be with the talent they have. This could destroy a potentially great career. Why take the risk?
That seems like quite a gamble. It could pay off for him, but it could also backfire spectacularly. He'd be better served with with a couple of years in F3 where he can truly learn his craft. Chucking him in too soon could be seriously damaging. I could be wrong, but it's a hell of a gamble for him.
Let's hope Max's first race is less dramatic than his fathers! [video=youtube;pR3-E2c5i8Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR3-E2c5i8Q[/video], And that his car doesn't catch fire.......... [video=youtube;o2_DfKVTjzA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2_DfKVTjzA[/video] Jos was also brought in very young, (or be it as an emergency replacement for the injured JJ Lehto) and got his ass kicked by Schumacher in his first season. Again he was supposed to have a lot of talent, but had his confidence knocked badly by the pressure of being in a front running team and being miles behind his teammate. Don't think he ever really recovered and ended up sliding down the grid.
At least it's been sorted reasonably early. JEV stands a reasonable chance of getting a seat elsewhere you'd think.
I'm not sure where he could go next season, theres not a lot of seats looking open. The only possibilities I can think of is maybe Sauber or Caterham...
If he can stay in the mid-grid area he will do very well. He's not shown himself to be an exceptional driver, so will a team want to pay him a salary, or try and get someone who brings in some money instead? Would be a safe pair of hands at Sauber, if he has some funding he could bring with him. Lets face it, both Sauber drivers this year have been disappointing. JEV/di Silvestro 2015 lineup?
I'm unsure what options he realistically has, having been dropped by RB who have supported and financed him for a number of years. Crazy to think that he was ok against Riccardo in their shoot out season and subsequent test, 1 will have the chance to fight forces title and 1 will be fighting fr his career.
Tbh I don't rate JEV. He was 2nd best to ricciardo so it's the red bull philosophy to look to the next challengers
Not entirely fair, Vettel & Ricciardo are doing very well out of it. It gives drivers a shot at F1, if they are good enough they will stay within the Red Bull family and move on to the main team, but once they get to their mid/late twenties, if they haven't made the grade they make way for the next up and coming talent. Is a good way to ensure new talent does make it to F1 on merit, and not just what budget they can bring to a team.
They'll toss significantly more aside after a very brief run out than those that actually go on to greatness. It's not exactly developing and producing drivers, it's pumping numbers through to try find talent. It's like fishing with a net rather than a pole.
But with only 2 seats available at Torro Rosso, and then two further at the elite RBR squad. they have to do that to a certain extent to see which drivers will make it. There are only 4 seats available to go around. Those that get tossed aside can still find seats elsewhere, it's just that they don't have the Red Bull bosom to suckle from so need to find their own feet. At least they are giving potentially talented drivers a chance, most teams in lower formula give their drives to those with the most money. JEV has had a good few years and has yet to show he is better than any of his team-mates, so IMO they have given him enough time. Natural selection always ensures the strongest get to the top, whilst the weakest will be found out and left to their own devices. Finding driver talent runs along the same lines. harsh, but that's life. The two RBR drivers are from the Red Bull jnr program, so it clearly does work.
I think only Liuzzi has got another drive after being dumped by Toro Rosso (and even then it took two years and only happened due to Massa's accident) . Vergne is a decent driver, but his odds don't look good. Their entire careers are completely dependent on their being a vacancy at Red Bull. Ricciardo is a big success story now, but what would have happened to him if Webber had chosen to stay on? His record at TR wasn't all that much better than Buemi's, Alguersuari's or Vergne's.
