16 stories of F1 ’16: Max becomes a megastar
“He’s too young,” some said, “he hasn’t even passed his driving test yet,” others exclaimed as news broke of the seemingly premature graduation of Max Verstappen to Formula One in 2014.
What the Dutchman has produced since, however, has been nothing short of sensational, and there were moments in 2016 when we realised we were witnessing the rise of the sport’s next megastar.
After a superb debut campaign with Toro Rosso, Verstappen appeared set for another season of preparation before earning the coveted promotion to Red Bull. He started the campaign in solid fashion, notching three points finishes in the first four races, the highlight of which was an impressive sixth place in Bahrain. Few, though, could have predicted what would happen next.
Following an impressive podium finish in China, a clumsy pair of collisions brought Daniil Kvyat’s home race in Sochi to an early end, incurring the furious wrath of his victim Sebastian Vettel. A matter of days later, it emerged that Kvyat’s punishment far exceeded a dressing-down: he was to be demoted to Toro Rosso with immediate effect, with Verstappen getting the nod over teammate Carlos Sainz to fill the void.
At the time, it seemed a step too far from a notoriously ruthless Red Bull set-up, but with the benefit of hindsight, I can say this, thank God. Thrust into the big time, Verstappen was the saviour of a 2016 season which saw Mercedes dominate more comprehensively than ever before.
Now he had to prove himself. Ricciardo just about got the better of Verstappen in their first qualifying duel in Spain, stamping his authority as anticipated. However, when the Mercedes collided on lap one on Sunday, an enthralling four-way duel for victory emerged. By the closing laps, it was Verstappen, holding off Kimi Raikkonen, who shattered the record for the youngest Grand Prix winner with an emphatic announcement of his arrival at the four-time world champions.
What struck me about this victory was not its immediacy, but its controlled nature: Verstappen strategically saved his battery power for the blast down the start/finish straight, where he was most vulnerable to Raikkonen’s attacks, allowing him to hold off the vastly more-experienced Finn despite relentless pressure. From a driver who has been much-maligned for his impetuousness, this was remarkably wise.
As Verstappen took his place atop the podium on that amazing afternoon, few were able to comprehend the significance of what they had witnessed – the greatest indication yet that we were watching the birth of a special talent. Such is the ever-changing nature of Formula 1, the complaints about Kvyat’s demotion were forgotten.
Though it was Verstappen who grabbed the headlines that day, Ricciardo just about held the edge across the whole campaign. Indeed, the Australian has developed into one of the sport’s finest drivers and passed perhaps his greatest test yet in swiftly steadying the ship following Verstappen’s arrival. Following the retirements of Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button, Red Bull surely find themselves with the strongest, and certainly the most exciting, driver line-up of them all.
To merely heap praise on Verstappen, though much of it is warranted, would not be appropriate, for the Dutchman garnered justified criticism over the course of the campaign. In Monaco, for example, where both his qualifying and race were brought to a premature end through clumsy accidents, he demonstrated that he had not yet developed the consistency which characterises top drivers, and understandably so.
His form in the next two races was steady, fourth in Canada and eighth in Baku, before a return to the podium at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, the latter following a superb overtake on Rosberg around the outside of Becketts.
Thereafter, however, he found himself enveloped in controversy.
In both Budapest and Belgium, Verstappen’s defensive tactics were called into question. At Spa in particular, where he disappointed the travelling Dutch contingent with 11th place, he was condemned for making more than one defensive manoeuvre as he battled with Raikkonen, and found himself in a public war-of-words with the Ferrari drivers to which there appeared no end in sight.
After missing out on the top five in the following two races, he just missed out on an unprecedented second victory in Malaysia when Lewis Hamilton’s retirement offered a tantalising glimpse of the future by thrusting the Red Bull duo into a battle for victory. After holding off his teammate in a single-lap duel which had the worldwide audience on the edge of their seats, Ricciardo won.
Max was second again in Japan before retiring in Austin and was denied a podium in Mexico after being hit with a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage as he looked to hold off (surprise, surprise) Vettel’s Ferrari.
But then we arrive at one of the finest performances in recent history. Hamilton may have won the Brazilian Grand Prix, but Verstappen stole the show with a magnificent late charge from 14th to third that drew comparisons with Ayrton Senna.
He sliced his way through the pack, bullying his way past Vettel at the penultimate corner and, in vintage Verstappen style, executed moves where most would not dare consider it. But for a strategic blunder from Red Bull, he would have almost certainly beaten a struggling Rosberg that day, and could even have ruffled race leader Hamilton’s feathers.
It is this, rather than his Barcelona triumph, which will prove our fondest memory of his 2016 campaign and confirmed that multiple world championships lie in wait. Few drivers have generated such immense hype in the early stages of their career, and the challenge for Verstappen is to live up to it: there seems little doubt he will do just that.
Where next, then? If indeed Red Bull’s aerodynamic prowess allow them to truly challenge Mercedes in 2017, a maiden world championship is far from out of the question.
A four-way duel between Verstappen, Ricciardo, Hamilton and his as yet unconfirmed teammate very much whets the appetite and could be key to restoring the sport’s glory days. Verstappen’s tactics are, and will continue to be divisive, but they get fans talking, they breathe life into otherwise processional races and they save the sport from fading into a perennial snooze-fest. Roll on next year.