The departing head of AlphaTauri, Franz Tost, has disclosed that he received criticism for his 2015 signing of Max Verstappen, calling him “totally crazy.”
Verstappen, who signed on with Toro Rosso alongside Carlos Sainz for the 2015 season, was announced as an F1 driver at the age of sixteen.
That meant that, at just 17, Verstappen would surpass the record set by Jaime Alguersuari in 2009 for the youngest-ever Formula One driver.
In 2016, Verstappen advanced to Red Bull and won his first race at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen has had a ton of success since then, taking home three world championships, 53 races, and 97 podium finishes.
Given Verstappen’s age and lack of single-seater experience, the decision to sign him was strongly criticized at the time.
Tost, who is quitting F1 following this weekend’s race in Abu Dhabi, discussed Verstappen and the choice to sign him in an interview with the F1 Nation Podcast.
Naturally, Max [Verstappen] came next. Max due to his extraordinary speed,” he remarked.
Some of your coworkers approached me after we brought him to Formula 1 and said, “You’re completely nuts; how can you take someone who doesn’t even have a driver’s license?”
