Back at Suzuka: Max Verstappen recalls F1 premiere at age 17

Eight years later, the return to where it all began.

Max Verstappen in Suzuka wrote an important page of his Formula 1 career: the very first. Indeed, on the very circuit that also hosted the Japanese Grand Prix at the time, the Dutchman ran his first free practice session in 2014 at the wheel of a Toro Rosso. And in the meantime, with a world championship in the bag and a second title very close, he decided to tell what that memory represents for him.

“I remember well how high I was at the end of that session. It had gone very well,” said Max Verstappen, as can be read on the ‘Daily Mail’ website. The rookie, in fact, finished that very first Formula 1 experience by snatching a remarkable 12th place for Toro Rosso.

“It was my first time driving a Formula 1 car, and I couldn’t believe I had all that power at my disposal. It was really shocking. And if I compare the driver I was then with the driver I am today, the difference is colossal,” Verstappen added.