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Suncity Group 61st Macau Grand Prix 2014
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Dutch teenager Max Verstappen will need to work overtime as he starts at the back of the grid for today's big race. Photo: Xinhua

Max Verstappen's Macau mistake gives critics fuel for fire

Teenager was hoping for a strong performance on the Guia circuit to strengthen his credibility before becoming the youngest-ever driver in F1

Oh Max … this was not the way for Formula One's soon-to-be-youngest-ever driver to silence the critics.

Max Verstappen has spent the past few weeks on the Formula One circuit, test driving in Japan, the US and Brazil for Toro Rosso. The Formula Three Macau Grand Prix might have seemed a bit of a backward step, and after an embarrassing crash in yesterday's qualification race, the 17-year-old Dutchman, might be wishing he hadn't bothered.

He and his F3 European Championship team Van Amersfoort, for whom he finished third this season, had long pencilled in Macau, and his shock elevation to the senior ranks wasn't going to change that.

Since his signing for Toro Rosso was revealed, many - including plenty of current and former drivers - have cast doubt on the wisdom of letting a teenager who doesn't even have his driving licence take part in motor sport's fastest championship.

A win in the fabled Macau race, putting his name alongside the likes of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, would have helped silence some doubters, but that looks completely out of reach after yesterday's mishap, when he damaged a front wheel after braking too late and hitting a wall, and had to retire.

"It was already decided in the beginning of the year and I think it's good for me to be here and it's always good to have new challenges," the slight teenager said before his gaffe. "It would be nice to win it."

That surely isn't going to happen now - Verstappen will start from 24th place in today's race. If he still wins, he might be the greatest racing driver of all time.

Having shot into the public consciousness overnight, Verstappen admits he's sick already of being asked about his age, but he's even the second-youngest of the 28 drivers in Macau, the flagship race for junior drivers; this year's field has an average age of just over 20.

If there's any jealousy at their rival's stunning rise, Verstappen insists he hasn't seen it.

"I think my closest friends in F3 were happy for me," he says. "I haven't spoken about it a lot so I don't know about others …"

Alex Lynn, who won the Macau Grand Prix last year, is among the names in contention to partner him at Toro Rosso.

Verstappen became the youngest man ever to take part in a F1 grand prix at Suzuka in September and has since taken the wheel in Austin and Sao Paulo as he gets used to the incredible difference between F3 cars, in which he has only had one season's experience, and Toro Rosso's STR9 machine.

Even senior Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo has admitted: "For me, I think a driver in Formula One at 17 is too young." But Verstappen did win over some critics in his practice sessions, outpacing plenty of more experienced senior drivers.

He insists the old pros "are all very friendly, very welcoming and open". "There's a lot more people around you, the media attention is quite high, but at the end everything is well organised.

"I am sick of people asking me about my age, it's just a number - I just really want to get out there and show what I can do."

Verstappen's father is an experienced F1 driver and has apparently spent much time toughening up young Max. Jos told about when his son crashed in a kart race.

"I didn't speak to him for seven days," Verstappen senior said. "I ignored him. I was really p*****. I really wanted to teach him a point that it should hurt him. I wanted to show him that. He was also sick from what happened. And after a week, I started talking to him again."

The next few months will see him hitting the weights as he tries to prepare for the stresses his body will face next season.

"I'll need a lot of physical training, and a lot of spending time with the team, I think that's the most important thing at the moment," he says.

"You are racing for one or two hours so you need to be fit all the time. It's considerably different from what I'm used to in F3, the acceleration is much higher, cornering much higher so you have more forces on the body.

"It will be very difficult to get on the podium. I just need to get the consistency and get to know the tracks."

And that's not the only studying - he still has to finish high school, and will have one-on-one teaching when not racing. "It's going to be very hard to combine the two but I think it's important.

"It's going to be hard work, but it was always my dream to get to Formula One and I'll do everything I can for that."

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Verstappen gives critics fuel for fire
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