GPI 2016 Spanish Grand Prix Edition | Page 48

TALKING POINT IT TASTES GOOD

At 18 years and 228 days , he is now not only the youngest man to race in Formula One , but also the youngest to score points , finish on the podium and win a race , taking all of those records from four-time champion Sebastian Vettel , who had set them when he , too , was a Red Bull driver .
Vettel finished third , separated from the remarkable Dutchman by his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen , a 36-year-old veteran of 235 races - – to Verstappen ’ s 24 - – who had also , as he reminded him , raced in F1 against his father .
“ Yeah ,” said Raikkonen , whose future with the Italian team was threatened recently by the potential arrival there next year of Verstappen . “ And that , for me , is pretty scary .”
Almost incredibly , Verstappen had only joined the Red Bull team a week earlier , in a shock promotion from the Toro Rosso outfit .
It was , for him , a new car , a new team and a new world of expectations and pressure . It also meant he was no longer free to leave Red Bull and join a rival team .
“ I don ’ t have the words to explain it ,” he said . “ I was in good company on the podium because Kimi raced against my dad and that ’ s funny ! He reminded me , too . It ’ s nice isn ’ t it ?
“ I was not nervous in the race , but I was focused a lot on making no mistakes and looking after the tyres . On my in-lap , I had a bit of cramp , but that ’ s just a part of it all .”
His was Red Bull ’ s first win since the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix and first without Vettel in the team . It was also the first by a Dutch driver in the history of Formula One . No wonder that on the day his father Jos was moved to tears .