Verstappen exceeded his own expectations

Toro Rosso junior Max Verstappen believes he exceeded his own expectation in his rookie year in Formula 1.

The Dutch prodigy and teenager completed what most regard as a phenomenal year with the Faenza squad given his young age and inexperience, much of which was a source of contention among paddock pundits at the beginning of the 2015 season.

But Max was quick to silence his detractors, demonstrating early on an extraordinary natural ability - which few really doubted - coupled with a keen sense of racecraft and flair which have made him one of the brightest F1 talents to emerge in years.

Yet, the junior bull has taken it all in his stride, like an seasoned champion, confident in his future and in the potential required to fulfill his world championship ambitions.

"I never thought about my age and that I was the youngest driver on the grid.," he says.

"You just have to always believe in yourself and I just did what I was used to doing in F3 and go-karting. The only difference this year is that I've been driving a bigger, faster car.

"Of course you question yourself a bit and ask 'can I do it?', but this happens in any racing series. I'm a very relaxed person and I just told myself, 'let's see what happens'. I also did the same when I started in go-karting, you never know what's going to happen or how good you will be."

Regardless of his achievements this season, Verstappen exceeded most people's expectations, including his own.

"I scored more points than I expected, so in that respect it's definitely been better than I thought at the start of the year. I'm very happy with that!

"I'd say I've also been very consistent throughout the year, something that's not always easy to achieve during a rookie year."

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