Verstappen ‘a bit shocked’ by Red Bull promotion

Max Verstappen admits he was “a bit shocked” when he was informed of his promotion from Toro Rosso to Red Bull.

The Dutchman replaces Daniil Kvyat at Milton Keynes from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, while the Russian returns to Faenza following a troubled start to his 2016 F1 campaign despite delivering Red Bull’s sole podium finish of the season so far.

Although there was little doubt that Verstappen would step up to the energy drinks giant’s main team eventually, the 18-year-old concedes Thursday’s announcement came as a surprise.

“Of course, I was very happy, a bit shocked,” Verstappen said. “I did not expect that.

“I have never driven the RB11 nor the RB12 before so it’ll be a whole new experience, a lot of new procedures to learn but I am up for it.

“ I know what [Red Bull] has done in the history of Formula One. They are very competitive. I am also a very competitive person, so hopefully it’s a perfect match.”

After a challenging 2015 campaign, Red Bull has returned to form this year, consistently fighting on the cusp of the podium positions. Asked if he felt any extra pressure heading to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the light of his fast-tracked graduation, Verstappen replied:

“I just take it quite relaxed, see where it goes, work as well as I can with the engineers, study the procedures, and also try to learn from my team-mate.

“I go [to Spain] with no expectations to be honest. I just want to adapt to the car, understand it better and better every session. I’ll study the data a lot. The most important thing is that we score some points.”

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Scene at the Russian Grand Prix