NASCAR Champ Once Dissed Max Verstappen for Skirting the Rules After F1 Accomplishment

The Formula 1 team, Toro Rosso, signed A young Dutchman named Max Verstappen, on August 19, 2014. Later in 2015, Max Verstappen made his racing debut in Formula 1, which drew a lot of criticism. Many considered the youngest driver in F1 history to be far too inexperienced to participate in the king’s class. Verstappen actually had no driving privileges at all when he made his debut at the age of 17. It forced the FIA to act as a result of this. However, even before that, the Dutchman received a snarky wish from a NASCAR champion for making it to the top tier of motorsport.

Verstappen finished third in the 2014 Euro F3 championship behind Esteban Ocon and Tom Blomqvist, who took first and second place, respectively. However, Verstappen managed to win 10 races along the way. While progressing, Toro Rosso picked Verstappen up for their squad for the 2015 campaign. In addition, as everyone is aware, the Dutchman hails from a family of racecar drivers. One of them is his relative, Anthony Kumpen. In 2014 and 2016, Kumpen was a regular competitor in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and twice won the championship.

The effort Jos Verstappen put into raising his son has made him a competent racer, yet in 2014, when Anthony Kumpen learned that Verstappen had been chosen for Formula 1, Kumpen congratulated him sarcastically via Twitter, “ My cousin Max Verstappen will be the youngest @F1 driver ever, congratulations.. so cool racing F1 and not having a normal driver’s license.”

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At 17 years old, Max Verstappen was already a full-time Formula 1 driver. It’s interesting to note that the Dutchman didn’t even have a driver’s license when he began competing in major league racing.

Max Verstappen recalls his humorous experience obtaining his driver’s license

The double champion who we all adored so much back when he was flying cars around F1 circuits didn’t have a driver’s license. But the tale of how the Dutchman obtained his license is very fascinating. Verstappen admitted, before his test, he didn’t like operating road vehicles. He conceded that in order to get him ready for his driving test, his father had to force him into a car.

In an interview with G-Star Raw back in 2020, Max Verstappen stated, “I hated driving stick. I’ll take an automatic any day. My mum said I should do the test, and I agreed that it was a good idea. I studied from six in the evening to one in the morning. At 10 the next morning I went to the driving school and passed the test.”

A few months later, Verstappen had to take his driving test. He recalled that his examiner was quite serious and was not on his side, “I had to turn left and I turned right, so that was a bit awkward. I didn’t give way once, to pedestrians. They weren’t even waiting. But in the end I passed, so I was happy about that,” said Verstappen.

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Since he was exempt from the new regulations, Max Verstappen properly obtained a super license before making his F1 debut. He raced with Toro Rosso for the first time in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix and won his first race in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. Team boss Christian Horner and advisor Marko transferred him to Red Bull in 2016, and the rest is history.