Max Verstappen, 16, to become youngest F1 driver in history

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Max Verstappen

The 16-year-old signed with Red Bull's young driver programme last week and is now set to make history after it was announced that he is to take Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso seat in 2015.

Max Verstappen will be just 17 when he makes his F1 debut next season for Red Bull's sister team, making him the youngest driver in the history of the sport.

The move has raised plenty of eyebrows - the youngster only made his Formula Three bow this year - although he has turned heads with his stunning form, claiming eight victories for the Van Amersfoort Racing team so far.

And father Jos, who earned the nickname 'The Boss' during a spell in F1 that saw him race for the likes of Benetton, Stewart and Arrows between 1994 and 2003, has faith in Max's abilities.

"He'll turn 17 next month and is on his way into Formula 1," Jos told Max's official website.

"He won't have the experience but it's been a well thought through decision and in the end I'm the one that knows Max best. People need to realise that Max is able to adapt and learn tremendously fast.

"Plenty of drivers didn't make it through GP2 so after carefully deliberating with Max, [manager] Raymond [Vermeulen] and Red Bull, we came to the conclusion that F1 is the best option for Max."

Jos also feels that Red Bull are the ideal team to make the most of Max's undoubted potential.

"For me, the thing that gave Red Bull the edge was their determination and motivation to make Max part of Red Bull," Jos added.

"They knew that Max is something special and they gave us the feeling they realised that. 

"Furthermore, they are the benchmark when it comes to driver development. Especially within motorsport, they are a big player with fantastic facilities and trainers.

"Max will be prepared to the best of his abilities in order to extract the most out of his talent."

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