European Formula 3

Review: TCF’s Top 10 FIA European Formula 3 Championship Drivers of 2014

9 Mins read

2) Max Verstappen

For a driver competing in his first season of car racing having stepped directly from karting into European Formula 3, Max Verstappen quickly established himself as one of the most promising talents in the series that culminated in ten wins and third place in the championship.

Driving for the same Van Amersfoort Racing team that gave his father Jos a break back in the 1990s, it did not take long for the Dutchman, who started the year as a fledgling sixteen-year-old, to acclimatise himself to the series and to using a clutch for the first time, and he was a winner in just his sixth race at Hockenheim.

If his early season form was impressive, then his mid-season run was incredible, with Verstappen taking six consecutive race victories in consecutive weekends at Spa-Francorchamps and the Norisring to propel himself firmly into championship contention.

An engine failure whilst leading and subsequent penalties cost him momentum at the Nurburgring, but he was amazing in his reply to finish on the podium in race three despite starting outside the top ten. He won two more races at Imola and again at Hockenheim, but ultimately lost out to Tom Blomqvist for second in the championship by only nine points, but had shown enough talent in his first year to earn a ticket to Formula 1, where he will debut in 2015 with the Scuderia Toro Rosso team to become F1’s youngest ever driver. A star was born in 2014.

13769 posts

About author
Long time motorsport fanatic, covering Formula 1 and the occassional other series. Feel free to give him a follow on Twitter at @Paul11MSport.
Articles
Related posts
DTMEuropean Formula 3Formula European MastersGeneral Formula 3

Fenestraz Loses Renault Backing after Failing to Meet Top Three Target

1 Mins read
Sacha Fenestraz’s failure to finish inside the top three in the FIA European Formula 3 championship in 2018 has cost him his place in the Renault Sport Academy.
European Formula 3Season Review

Season Review: 2018 FIA European Formula 3 Championship - Schumacher's Title

7 Mins read
The Checkered Flag looks back at the 2018 FIA European Formula 3 Championship season, a year where the name of Schumacher once again became the one to beat in motor sport.
DTMEuropean Formula 3FIA World RallycrossGT World ChallengePorsche Mobil 1 Supercup

Andreas Bakkerud Heads Audi's Rookie Test Line-Up

1 Mins read
The World Rallycross Championship race winner is one of the six drivers called up by Audi for the end-of-season rookie testing.