Marko says young driver rule invalidated by rookies results

Red Bull motorsport chief Helmut Marko believes F1 was wrong to regulate so severely a young driver's access to Grand Prix racing.

Following an onslaught of negative comments last winter regarding the energy drink's enrollment of 17-year-old Max Verstappen into the junior Toro Rosso team, the FIA reacted by introducing a new qualification super license system, basically barring the route to F1 for excessively under-experienced young drivers.

Not only has Verstappen acquitted himself remarkably well since the beginning of the season, becoming the youngest driver in F1 history to score world championship points, team mate Carlos Sainz Jr has also impressed with his performance level given his rookie status.

"The maturity of our two young drivers is probably no longer in question," Marko told Austrian broadcaster Servus TV. "But it is sad that now a regulation is coming in that would have deprived both Max and Carlos of the license they need. The sport is over-regulated," he insisted.

Marko once again defended the choice of young raw talent over experience favored by Red Bull, as a contrary approach would defeat the purpose of the company's young driver development program.

"If you are 17, but you have the maturity of a 22-year-old, then you have to question this strict age rule. We did nothing reckless. We tested Carlos in a 3.5-litre Formula Renault, in a two-year-old F1 car, we put him in the simulator -- at every point he was competitive from the beginning, just like Max."

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