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March 7, 2015

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F1’s youngest ever line-up eyes success

KIMI Raikkonen is old enough to be Max Verstappen’s father, and when the Formula One season gets underway at the Australian Grand Prix, the teen prodigy will be racing against the seen-it-all veteran.

At 17, Verstappen will become the youngest driver in F1 history. He was only 3-and-a-half years old when Raikkonen made his F1 debut at the Australian GP in 2001. In that race, Raikkonen finished sixth — four places ahead of Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen.

Raikkonen, who will be 36 in October, is fading away from the spotlight, but Verstappen’s time in F1 is just beginning.

The Dutch teen has a senior teammate on the Toro Rosso team but hardly by much.

He will race alongside 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr, whose father also drove cars professionally, except not the same ones.

While Verstappen's father secured only two podium finishes in more than 100 races, Sainz's father, Carlos Sainz, won 26 races and secured almost 100 podiums along with his two world rally titles.

Sainz Jr has more success to live up to than his junior teammate, but the media glare on Verstappen will be far more intense when the new season starts.

Both are level-headed, softly-spoken yet outwardly poised and confident.

On the final day of three rounds of pre-season winter testing, Verstappen proved steady again with the fourth fastest time. It was no surprise, given that he was consistent at all three test events, clocking 2,834 kilometers overall for the third highest amount of any driver. Not too far behind was Sainz Jr, with the sixth most.

“We put them through a massive program, aimed at giving them as much track time as possible, going through all the procedures that need to be well rehearsed for Melbourne,” Toro Rosso technical director James Key said. “They have both done a competent job and we are encouraged by their attitude and approach.”

They are the youngest lineup in F1 history, and they look ready.

Verstappen has only one season's experience racing in the European Formula Three championship, finishing third overall last year when he won 10 of 33 races.




 

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