27/07/2015
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen reveals that the summer break will be spent preparing for his driving test.
Few would argue that the Dutch youngster, along with his Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz, has been one of the revelations of 2015.
However, whilst making his F1 debut less than a year after switching from karts, Verstappen, who was 16 at the time of signing on the dotted line for the Faenza team, was too young to drive a road car.
Speaking in the wake of his best result to date, a superb drive to fourth on the demanding Hungaroring, Verstappen revealed that the forthcoming summer break will be put to good use.
"I'm doing my lessons in the summer break and then will take my driving test around my (eighteenth) birthday in September.
"With the F1 schedule it has been difficult to fit everything in so I've had to wait for the break," he admitted. "You need a minimum six or seven hours driving under the laws in Belgium, where I live. I hope that's all I need. We'll see."
Following the youngster's signing to Toro Rosso, and his subsequent race debut, which made him the youngest ever driver to contest a Formula One race, the rules were changed, which means his record should stand for some time.
Speaking about a Hungarian Grand Prix, which kept fans on the edges of their seats from lights to flag, he said: "Unbelievable, P4... what a great result.
"I didn't expect that at all after a bit of a bad start," he admitted. "However I managed to stay out of trouble and during my second stint everything was going well, I felt comfortable in the car and the guys behind me were not catching me up.
"When the race restarted after the safety car period there was a lot going on, with cars crashing in front of me. So with a few laps to go I was asking my engineer in what position we were in and when he said P4 I just couldn't believe it. I'm very, very happy."