Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly says he has thanked Spanish Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen for showing that young drivers can perform at the highest level in Formula One.
Verstappen’s fast-track promotion at the tender age of 16 initially raised many eyebrows and quickly led the FIA to raise the age limit to enter the sport to 18.
The Dutchman followed a stellar 2015 rookie campaign at Toro Rosso with a quartet of strong performances that earned him another earlier-than-expected graduation to Red Bull’s main team. Verstappen wasted little time in seizing the opportunity to become the youngest race winner in F1 history at the age of 18 years and 228 days.
“I thanked him for his win because I think it is really good for young drivers to prove now we are ready a bit earlier than what it used to be before because we are also starting younger,” said Gasly, who was testing for Toro Rosso on the opening day of in-season testing.
“So it is definitely good for the younger drivers to show that even if we are young and if we don’t have as much experience as the others, we are still able to do well. So definitely it is good for us, and hopefully it can keep it up like this for the next races.”
Verstappen’s rise to F1 stardom could well open up a spot for Gasly at Toro Rosso next year. The 20-year-old, who is leading this year’s GP2 Series following the opening round in Barcelona last weekend, is keen to show Red Bull what he is capable of when given the opportunity to test in F1.
“For me it is really important to get as many days as possible because of course my target is to be there [in F1] for next year, so I need to take some experience, I need to work well for the team, show them I am ready, and so of course today was important.”
Toro Rosso returnee Daniil Kvyat will take over from Gasly on Wednesday, while the Frenchman is tipped to drive for Red Bull during the post-British Grand Prix test on July 12/13.
REPORT: Vettel tops opening day of Barcelona test
AS IT HAPPENED: Barcelona post-race test - Day 1
Spanish Grand Prix - Quotes of the weekend
DRIVER RATINGS: Spanish Grand Prix
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