Max Verstappen at Red Bull, Vergne in danger?
After joining the Red Bull junior team, Max Verstappen could aim for a Formula 1 seat as early as 2015, according to the Dutch press.
Max Verstappen, a 16-year-old driver in the European Formula 3 championship, has joined the Red Bull junior team with immediate effect, the Austrian manufacturer announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Also coveted by Mercedes, the Dutchman, son of former Benetton or Arrows driver Jos Verstappen, has chosen to join the program managed by Helmut Marko, which has enabled Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, as well as Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat, to reach the pinnacle of motorsport. The Austrian had not hidden his desire to attract the promising driver to his team.
« We are very happy to announce that Max Verstappen has accepted our invitation to join the Red Bull Junior Team. [He] will continue his Formula 3 campaign at the Nurburgring this weekend as a Red Bull junior driver, » states the release.
The rumors quickly emerged in the Dutch press about the future of the young Dutchman. According to the newspaper De Telegraaf, citing a source at Toro Rosso, Max Verstappen could replace Jean-Eric Vergne—in his third season at Faenza—as early as 2015. Jos Verstappen said, for his part: “We will discuss it with Red Bull and see what is possible regarding the program.”
