THE ROOKIES
FELIPE NASR
WHERE DID HE
COME FROM?
The 22-year-old
Brazilian graduates to
F1 after three years in
GP2, culminating in
taking third in the
standings last year for
Carlin. He dovetailed
that with five Friday
practice outings for
Williams in 2014, as
well as completing
three test days. Nasr
won the British F3
title in 2011, two
years after taking
the Formula BMW
Europe crown. He also
finished third in the
Daytona 24 Hours in
2012 in a one-off
appearance.
MAX VERSTAPPEN
WHERE DID HE
COME FROM?
CARLOS SAINZ
WHERE DID HE
COME FROM?
Sainz has previously
tested with Red Bull
WorldMags.net
The Spaniard became
the first Red Bullbacked driver to win
the Formula Renault
3.5 series last year,
taking the title with
seven wins for DAMS.
Prior to that, he won
the 2011 FRenault 2.0
NEC title before going
on to win races in
British F3. His first
experience of racing
on the F1 support bill
came in 2010, when
he finished fourth in
the Formula BMW
Europe series. Sainz
is the son of former
double World Rally
Champion Carlos Sr.
MARCH 5 2015 AUTOSPORT.COM 71
71
PREVIEW
Verstappen got Friday
outings with STR last year
Verstappen, the son of
1990s F1 regular Jos,
will become, by some
distance, the youngest
driver to start a grand
prix. The 17-year-old
karting graduate has
only one season
of car racing under his
belt, finishing third in
the F3 European
Championship last
year and winning the
prestigious F3
Masters. He also drove
three times for Toro
Rosso during Friday
practice. In 2013, he
took World and
European titles in the
KZ shifter-kart class.
SEASON
“Obviously it’s easy to be calm in testing…
Look, it would be stupid for me to tell you I
won’t be nervous. I will be nervous. But I was
nervous before qualifying at Paul Ricard [FR3.5],
knowing I had to score pole position to show Red
Bull I am the one for the [F1] seat. But hopefully
I’m ready for that nervousness.”
Verstappen admits, with a smile of slight
surprise, that his path to F1 has had “many ups,
not many downs” compared with Sainz’s
journey. There was no audition required – the
first time he drove an F1 car was as a signed 2015
racer. But he doesn’t think he would’ve done
anything different had he needed to prove
himself, and nor does he intend to this year.
“The first time I jumped into the car at Suzuka
[in free practice for the Japanese GP] was still a
bit ‘living the dream’,” he says. “But then
afterwards they’re working more and more with
you because you’re the driver next year and
you’re getting into the team.
“I’ve never focused on impressing someone.
If you start to do that, you will overpush, and
even the team doesn’t like that. I always go into
it thinking that if you do a good job it gives you
chances, but the only thing I can do is my best.
More than that is not possible. If you start to
show off and pretend to be someone else to
who you normally are, it’s not good.”
Surely lining up on the grid in Melbourne will
test that composure? “Maybe when the lights are
starting to go on at the start. But once they’re
off, you are in race mode and trying to overtake
everybody in front of you. I think in the end,
when the adrenaline kicks in, you just do like
you always did before.”
Eve rything they’ve done before has been
leading to this chance, prompting emotions that
the affable and open Sainz encapsulates with a
grin, an eye-roll, an intense “you can’t imagine
it” and some poignant nostalgia: “In karting, I
used to watch the F1 races before jumping in the
kart to race. You gave even more importance to
watching the F1 race, especially Alonso and
Hamilton in 2007. It was really intense, the
feeling of one day wanting to go to F1.”
Next Sunday, thousands of karters around the
world will get up to watch Sainz, Verstappen and
Nasr make their F1 debuts, before pulling on
their own helmets and trying to inch themselves
another tiny step closer to tasting what F1’s 2015
rookie pack will feel in Australia.
Nasr got vital mileage
with Williams in 2014
COATES/LAT
CARLOS SAINZ
XPB IMAGES
BE STUPID
TO TELL YOU
I WON’T BE
NERVOUS.
I WILL BE”
DUNBAR/LAT
WorldMags.net
“IT WOULD