Max Verstappen won the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix this Sunday April 21. The Dutchman, three-time world champion, forced Formula 1 to change its regulations.
This change is linked to the incredible precociousness of Max Verstappen who made his F1 debut March 15, 2015 during the Australian Grand Prix. He then had 17 years and 166 days. That day, he became the youngest driver in the history of Formula 1. Before becoming 15 days later, the first driver in history to take points in a Grand Prix.
The problem is that this caused a somewhat embarrassing anomaly for the Fédération Internationale Automobile: a driver therefore found himself behind the wheel of a racing car which reached 350 kilometers per hour without having a driving license! Because, at 17, legally, Verstappen could not have it… He then only had the right to be behind the wheel of a car but only with his mother or father in accompanied driving. And only in Belgium, where he lived. So in a single-seater, he would have had to be on the lap of dad, himself a former F1 driver, Jos Verstappen.
Until the Verstappen case study, it was just necessary to have what we call the Super License to have the authorization to drive a Formula 1 . It is issued by the FIA. But its president Jean Todt found it shocking that a driver must arrive before a race with a driverbecause he can’t drive himself. Hence the change in regulations because of the young Dutchman. From now on, to drive an F1 car, you must be 18 years old and have a driving license!
A driving license not without difficulties
Max Verstappen got his driving license at 18 . But, contrary to what one might believe, It wasn’t “fingers in the nose”: he made three errors in the code… Well, on the other hand, on an F1 circuit, there aren’t really any traffic signs… But as far as driving is concerned, it was really hot.
It was Max Verstappen himself who told it. This might sound crazy for a guy who already drove a Formula 1 car, but he was nervous. It must be said that this time he was behind the wheel of a small Opel. As a result, from the start, he went to the left even though the examiner had told him to go to the right. Afterwards, he did not yield to pedestrians at a level crossing . In short, he admitted that if he finally got this license, it was because the examiner recognized him and was kind to him.
Oddity repaired therefore, even if, in the past, there was even crazier: in the 1950s, the legendary Argentinian pilot Juan Manuel Fangio won his 5 world championship titles without having a license. That he finally spent 3 years after retiring from the circuits!
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