Max Verstappen says he exceeded his own expectations during his debut F1 season in 2015.
The Toro Rosso rookie scored 49 points in his first year racing in Formula One, finishing 12th in the drivers' championship. The highlights were a pair of fourth-place finishes in Hungary and the United States, with a run of six consecutive races in the top ten coming to an end at the final round in Abu Dhabi.
Asked if he exceeded his own expectations, Verstappen replied: "I think so, a little bit.
"I mean, 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."
And Verstappen says having a team-mate who he was closely matched with in Carlos Sainz helped him to achieve some strong results this year.
"I've had many good moments, which also makes me very happy! But if I have to choose one, I think Austin was my best race – very complete, quick and clean moves, and finished in P4. I think that in general I've learned a lot this year, gained plenty of experience and got much more knowledge about the car, the circuits... About Formula 1 in general.
"What has also been good is to have someone like Carlos as a team-mate. He's always pushing you and that's what I like, you need someone next to you who is pushing you hard to get the most out of you on track."
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