The name Verstappen should be familiar to F1 fans with Johannes Franciscus (you can see how Jos the Boss caught on) the most successful Dutchman in the sport. Now Jos Verstappen's son Max has been confirmed as a Toro Rosso F1 driver for next year.
Might not be this far ahead in F1...
Currently 16, Max will be 17 when he races in F1 and comfortably the youngest driver to have raced in the sport. Previously the record was held by Jaime Alguersuari at 19 years and 125 days, also for Toro Rosso. Verstappen will replace Jean-Eric Vergne and race with Daniil Kvyat.
Amazingly, this year is Verstappen's first in cars. Racing in European Formula 3 he had already won eight races, competing in karts from the age of seven until this season. At the Spa and Norisring rounds Verstappen won every race and took fastest lap.
Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost said of Verstappen's appointment: "We are happy to welcome Max into the Toro Rosso family... We consider Max to be as one of the most skilled young drivers of the new generation and we believe he has the necessary maturity and mental strength to take on this challenge successfully."
A big task for the young man then. It will be fascinating to see how he deals with the task ahead.
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[Sources: Autosport, LAT]