Max Verstappen is too young for Formula One: Mika Hakkinen

New Delhi: Formula One legend, Mika Hakkinen says that Max Verstappen is too young for the sport. On Friday, 17-year-old Verstappen became the youngest driver in F1 history by taking part in the free practice at Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.

The former two-time Formula One Drivers' champion reasoned that, "It's too young because in F1, the risk is high.” Hakkinen, who started as a back-up driver to Ayrton Senna at McLaren added, "In F1 you don't go to learn, you have to be ready. F1 doesn't allow you to do too much learning."

But the young driver said that, he is not focused on the age, it doesn't matter to him.

At the Japanese GP Friday free practice, Max impressed on his debut by posting a best lap time of one minute 38.157 seconds, only 0.443 seconds behind team-mate Daniil Kvyat. However, his session ended early when his Renault engine coughed out a plume of smoke through the Esses, forcing him to pull to the side of the track.

Later, he said that, I was enjoying it. I was lucky I survived but that was always on my mind. It was not about lap times, just staying on track and making mileage with the car.”

Born to former Dutch F1 driver Jos, Max will race for Toro Rosso in the 2015 F1 season. He broke Jamie Alguersuari's record by almost two years. Spaniard Alguersuari made his Grand Prix debut at the age of 19 years, 125 days at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.

With agency inputs