Graham Watson already worked with Max Verstappen in 2014 and remembers his Formula 1 beginnings – What impressed him most even back then
2015 Max Verstappen became the youngest Formula One driver in history at 17 years and 166 days old. Many outsiders thought the rise of the exceptional Dutch talent was premature. But those who worked with him even back then knew what talent lay dormant in him.
One is Graham Watson, then team manager of Toro Rosso, where Verstappen drove his debut season. Speaking to the Dutch edition of he recalls, “A lot of people said, ‘These kids shouldn’t be allowed to get into the sport until they’ve had some education’, which is nonsense.”
“The truth is, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. I think we were all a bit shocked that Max was so young, but Franz and Helmut (Marko) have been around a lot longer and they realised that he was, shall we say, exceptional in his generation, like Schumacher, Alonso or Hamilton. He was the right guy to put him in the car. “
Max Verstappen impresses at a young age
Watson first met Verstappen in September 2014, the year the then 17-year-old completed a couple of free practice sessions for Toro Rosso. “I can say that he definitely had some kind of aura about him,” says the team manager. “It was very obvious from the moment he came into the garage and got into the car.”
He cites Brazil 2014 as an example: “He almost had a bad accident on his first flying lap in the first practice. But he recovered the car, went on, did another lap and was basically the fastest. That showed that he believes in what he’s doing, that he knows what he’s doing. “
This impression was only further confirmed when Verstappen joined Toro Rosso as a regular driver in 2015. In the process, Watson also noticed parallels with father Jos Verstappen. “I worked with Jos Verstappen at Benetton before, so I related to the Verstappens’ mentality,” he explains.
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“I’m sure his father said you have to do certain things if you want to be treated as an equal or be the team leader. Knowing both of them, I see that a bit more than others. I really think Jos taught him, “Max, look, you have all the skills, but now you have to create the environment for yourself, like Michael did at Benetton and Ferrari.”
Alongside this determination, however, Watson highlights another of Verstappen’s qualities: his strong nerves. “Nothing rattled him,” he recalls. “I was talking to him once about nerves and I said, ‘Max, how do you deal with nerves?” and he said, “What do you mean?”
“I tried again and said, ‘When you’re on the grid and the lights are on and you’re surrounded by Formula One drivers who are much more experienced, aren’t you nervous?” and he said, ‘Oh, I never thought about that.’ Honestly, Graham, I’m just looking forward to driving the car.'”
Whoever wants to be F1 world champion has to do just that
“He said he’d been driving since he was four, so by the time he was 17 he’d had quite a long career and knew how to handle the pressure in karting championships,” Watson says. Reflecting on his year and a half with Verstappen at Toro Rosso, one moment in particular stood out for him.
“That was Singapore 2015: ‘I’m not going to let my teammate pass!’ That was the confirmation for me that this man was like a wall,” he recaps of Verstappen’s refusal to let his then teammate Carlos Sainz pass, who had the fresher tyres and was chasing Sergio Perez.
“He wouldn’t back down from anyone,” Watson says of Verstappen. “It wouldn’t matter who was driving the other car. And unfortunately, or fortunately, that’s exactly how you become a world champion. You have to be selfish and direct on the track. Otherwise you get eaten alive.”
“I see too many talented drivers who don’t make it because they are just nice guys. You can be a nice guy, but you have to be ruthless on the track,” insists the 54-year-old, who is now team manager of AlphaTauri and closely followed Verstappen’s career after his promotion to Red Bull. How much has he changed compared to the Verstappen of 2015?
Watson: “You can see his natural development “
“He’s much more mature, that’s for sure. With us, he was literally a teenager. I always found him very easy to talk to. He’s a humble guy, there’s no arrogance with him. Even now in the paddock he always greets me. (…) He hasn’t changed dramatically, you just see that he has grown up a lot.”
This is also noticeable on the track, says Watson: “He can still be aggressive, but he’s just matured. He knows when it’s time to push and when it’s time to hold back.” In doing so, Verstappen had also learned from some incidents in 2017 and 2018, which he discussed with Watson, he said.
“My advice was, ‘You have three tenths more in your pocket than most in Formula 1, so just pull back a tenth.’ You don’t have to find that last tenth every lap.’ I think he has definitely matured as a driver. You can see his natural progression. He’s also driving with his head and not just with his right foot. “
