GP: Australian Grand Prix
Date: 15 March 2015
Winner: Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
12th in qualifying, retired in the race. That was Max Verstappen's F1 debut.
He was a Toro Rosso driver alongside another rookie, Carlos Sainz Jr., who did better than him, qualifying eighth and finishing ninth in the Grand Prix.
They are both second generation racers.
Their respective fathers are Dutchman Jos, best remembered for the inferno that swallowed his Benetton in Germany in 1994, when he was Michael Schumacher's team-mate and Spaniard Carlos Sr., who was world rally champion in 1990 and 1992.
Born in Hasselt, Belgium, on 30 September 1997, on his debut Max was only 17, making him the youngest ever driver to start an F1 race.
He was hailed as a wonder, a karting prodigy, trained harshly by his father. It took him no time at all to astonish the world of Formula 1.
In his second race in Malaysia, he became the youngest ever driver to score points, going on to finish in the top ten 13 times from 22 starts. It was enough to convince Red Bull to promote him to the senior team, replacing Daniil Kvyat mid-season at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
An unpopular move but the right move as Max won first time out in the Red Bull, setting another record as the youngest ever winner, at the age of 18 years, 7 months and 15 days.
It was the beginning of a stellar trajectory that is still ongoing.
So far, he already has four consecutive World Championship trophies in his cabinet, from 2021 to 2024.
In 2025 Pirelli will hit the 500 F1® Grands Prix mark during the season.
Legacy of Speed series looks back at the fifty most significant Grands Prix from Pirelli's time on the F1 World Championship trail.
