Max Verstappen is the most in-form driver in F1 at the moment, having won three back-to-back world championships. However, he, like others had to start somewhere. Verstappen made his debut back in 2015, which made him the youngest star in the sport’s history. Now, his former engineer from Toro Rosso, Xevi Pujolar looks back at working with the Dutchman and recognizes how mighty he has become.
Pujolar said as per PlanetF1, “It’s good to see. He is a machine. I’m really enjoying seeing how he does. I am proud to have been part of the start of his Formula 1 career. I’m happy for him.”
#OnThisDay 8 years ago…
A 16-year-old by the name of Max Verstappen was announced as a Toro Rosso driver for the 2015 season
What ever happened to that kid? #F1 https://t.co/y12JiZZO8q pic.twitter.com/HWNW7utaFO
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 18, 2022
Admittedly, Verstappen is worthy to be called a “machine” after the Red Bull driver showed impeccable skills to break multiple records this year. The Red Bull driver claimed his third world championship this year. Additionally, he has won 44 races in the last three seasons.
Apart from this, Verstappen had ten consecutive race wins and is now the driver with third highest race wins in the history of F1 after Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. Pujolar, who worked with the Dutchman in 2015 in Toro Rosso, also mentioned that he enjoys watching the latter succeed in life.
Not just Pujolar, Max Verstappen ‘s current engineer also has full praise for him
Gianpiero Lambiase is currently the race engineer for Max Verstappen. They have been together for over eight years now and Verstappen shares a great relationship with him. During an episode of Talking Bull, Lambiase praised the Red Bull star’s mentality and determination.
In 2023, Verstappen also single handedly helped Red Bull seal the constructors’ championship with multiple races remaining.
This is the perfect way to end our extraordinary season I’m extremely grateful for all of the hard work that’s gone into this year by each and everyone of you involved @redbullracing & @HondaRacingGLB To win 19 races in a season is just incredible It’s a privilege to be… pic.twitter.com/vOkhVPyD0k
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 26, 2023
When it comes to personal milestones, the 26-year-old broke his own record of 15 race wins in a year, to take home 19 in 2023. As things stand, Verstappen and Red Bull are most likely to continue their dominance in 2024 as well. Given how far ahead Red Bull is, the order is unlikely to change before 2026.
