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Max Verstappen picks maiden win as his best moment in F1

Max Verstappen picks maiden win as his best moment in F1

10-04-2019 19:08
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Red Bull Racing star Max Verstappen picked his maiden Formula 1 win in Spain 2016 as his best memory in the sport, as the 1000th F1 race will be driven in Shanghai this weekend.

Verstappen's win in 2016 was as significant as it was surprising. He became the first Dutchman ever to win a Grand Prix, as well as the youngest F1 driver ever to win a race as he was just 18 years old at the time.

The 2016 Spain Grand Prix was also Verstappen's debut race for Red Bull after being promoted from Toro Rosso. He replaced Daniil Kvyat, who had ruined his reputation by driving into Sebastian Vettel twice at the Russian Grand Prix a few weeks earlier.

"It was a hectic weekend because everything had to be prepared fast," the 21-year-old told the Dutch edition of Motorsport.

"I had to go in the simulator, make a seat, learn the car and understand the steering wheel. I also had to meet a lot of new people like my engineer, and they had to meet me."

During the race, the two Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg took each other out in the opening stages of the race, opening up a gap for the young Verstappen.

"I was calm during the race, but it's different when you're fighting for the eighth or ninth place," he referenced to his fight with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.

"In the last four or five laps, the thoughts that it could happen started coming. The realisation didn't come until the last corner: 'I'm going to win this race'."