2021 Champion Max Verstappen’s Claim to Fame Is a Bane to F1 Aspirants

There is no questioning the fact that the F1 world champion, Max Verstappen, is a generational talent. But his entry into the sport being only 17 and his quick rise up to the ranks has put a lot of pressure on the upcoming generation of drivers.

The young drivers who enter Formula One right now have to stack up against the Red Bull driver and his achievements. Seeing this, Australian F2 driver Jack Doohan believes that age is just a number when it comes to judging someone’s talent.

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Everyone in the sport now perceives that young drivers who enter the sport should quickly become successful, just as Verstappen did. But the F2 driver who drives for Virtuosi Racing mentioned every driver has their own journey. Doohan also mentioned that every driver needs time to become a “boy to man”.

F2 driver explains how Max Verstappen has defined their generation

The Dutch driver entered the sport in 2015 and won his first race in 2016 when he was only 18. So it was a pretty impressive achievement for him that solidified his talent and his place in the sport. But that has become a marker for other upcoming drivers to achieve if they want to be successful in the sport.

“Max definitely was an outliner you could say and then as a kid, you would say I want to get to Formula 1 when I’m 17 or 18. All of a sudden that became a huge perspective as everyone thought that’s what had to be done,” said Doohan.

“But honestly though for boys, we are still developing mentally and our brain is still finishing programming till I think we’re 21 or 22… I think it’s a little bit overshadowed that people have this reality that it means as young as possible and you need to get in there as possible, like Max, in order to make it happen,” said the F2 driver.

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Doohan mentioned how Piastri and De Vries are in a good position to get into the sport next season. But unlike Verstappen, they had to wait a bit on the sidelines to get their chance. So he is correct in assessing the fact that everyone has their own journey and few can follow the path of Max in F1. Hopefully, we can see him in F1 soon enough as well.