The youngest driver to ever win a Formula 1 title is Sebastian Vettel, who secured it in 2010 at the age of 23. Yet, if 21-year old Max Verstappen wins it next year, he will easily surpass the current Ferrari driver’s achievement.
According to Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, there are “no excuses” not to try to go for the title in 2019, based on what the team showed in Mexico where the altitude had Renault power on par with Mercedes and Ferrari, allowing Red Bull to properly evaluate the strength of their chassis.
Marko told Autosport that his team is really looking forward to 2019 and that the goal is “to have the youngest world champion. Two years we have, but we’ll go for it next year.”
“We know the first year with a new engine manufacturer is not easy. But the aim, and the goal that I’ve told all the people, is that we have to go for the championship from the beginning. No excuses.”
As for any reliability concerns regarding their 2019 Honda engine, Marko stressed that the reason why Toro Rosso changed so many power units this year is so they could test more new developments.
“It’s tactical to get the best for next year. Toro Rosso are sacrificing their season for next year. It’s part of our concept that we have with Honda. The figures are already ahead of Renault.”
Meanwhile, team principal Christian Horner also feels good about Verstappen’s chances for next season.
“You’ve seen this weekend if we’ve an engine that’s anywhere near the ballpark of our opponents then we’ve got a strong enough team and strong enough driver package to take the fight to them. We’re obviously hopeful that Honda, with the progress they’re making, will put us into the situation that we’re more regularly able to compete like we are here – with the optimum downforce and setting on the car.”
Max Verstappen has until 2020 to win the title in order to edge out Vettel as the youngest F1 driver to do so.