Verstappen skipped GP2 out of fear to 'stall' career

Published on 24 Mar 2015 13:25

By: Rob Veenstra

Max Verstappen says he jumped at the chance to become F1's youngest-ever race driver for fear his career would otherwise stall. The 17-year-old, whose meteoric rise from karts to formula one within a year has been highly controversial, also received an offer from Mercedes in 2014.

The German marque offered to make Verstappen its reserve driver for 2015 whilst gaining experience in GP2. Ultimately, Verstappen jumped at the chance to leap immediately into F1 with Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso. "I thought about what happened with Raffaele Marciello," the Dutchman admitted to Germany's Auto Bild.

He is referring to the 20-year-old Swiss-born Italian, who won the FIA European F3 title in 2013 but then faltered last year in GP2, finishing just eighth. "He (Marciello) was the king of formula 3," said Verstappen, "but suddenly his career stalled in GP2."

Marciello, now the leading member of Ferrari's driver academy, has switched GP2 teams for 2015 and is also the reserve driver for Sauber. He will make his first grand prix appearance for the Ferrari-powered Swiss team this weekend in Malaysia, in Friday practice. (GMM)

F1 News Max Verstappen Raffaele Marciello Mercedes Ferrari Sauber

Total queries: 4
Total time: 0.53352808952332
time	sincestart	caller	annotate	bt	desc
	0.000467				instantiate query log (0Q - total module time: 0.00347805s)	""
	0.003951				boot (0Q - total module time: 0.00011611s)	""
	0.004071				translation-init (1Q - total module time: 0.00097299s)	""
0.00027609	0.004756	/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php		/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Statement.php:189(stopQuery) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/Redirect.php:105(execute) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Entities/Redirect.php:112(findByOrigin) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Redirects.php:108(getRedirectOrFalse) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:115(checkForDBRedirects) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:260(execute) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)	SELECT redirects.id, redirects.origin, redirects.referer FROM redirects WHERE redirects.origin = :origin ORDER BY id	{"origin":"\/en\/news\/f1\/200594\/verstappen-skipped-gp2-out-of-fear-to-stall-career"}
	0.005046				controller::news/f1/200594/verstappen-skipped-gp2-out-of-fear-to-stall-career (2Q - total module time: 0.20451498s)	""
0.00404811	0.005819	/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php		/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Statement.php:189(stopQuery) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/Article.php:389(execute) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:127(findNextArticle) {"function":"F1T\\Controllers\\{closure}","class":"F1T\\Controllers\\News","object":{"current_page":"news"},"type":"->","args":[]} /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Cache.php:144(call_user_func) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:158(lazyFetch) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:47(action_Index) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:269(dispatch) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:195(_load) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:260(execute) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)	SELECT Articles.ArticleId AS ArticleId, Articles.RewriteUrl AS RewriteUrl, Articles.ArticleType as ArticleType, Articles.Category as Category, Articles.cntnlang AS cntnlang, RacingSeries.RewriteUrl AS RacingSeriesRewriteUrl FROM Articles INNER JOIN RacingSeries ON Articles.RacingSerieId = RacingSeries.RacingSerieId WHERE Articles.cntnlang = :siteLang AND Articles.SiteId = :siteId AND Articles.Activated = 1 AND Articles.PublishDate < :publishDate AND Articles.ArticleType IN (:param0, :param1, :param2) AND Articles.ArticleId > :articleId ORDER BY Articles.ArticleId ASC LIMIT 1	{"siteLang":"en","siteId":"1","publishDate":"2026-02-04 09:20:00","articleId":200594,":param0":"Nieuws",":param1":"LiveRaceReport",":param2":"Liveblog"}
0.16520000	0.009898	/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php		/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Statement.php:189(stopQuery) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/Article.php:318(execute) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:128(findPrevArticle) {"function":"F1T\\Controllers\\{closure}","class":"F1T\\Controllers\\News","object":{"current_page":"news"},"type":"->","args":[]} /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Cache.php:144(call_user_func) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:158(lazyFetch) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:47(action_Index) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:269(dispatch) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:195(_load) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:260(execute) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)	SELECT Articles.ArticleId AS ArticleId, Articles.RewriteUrl AS RewriteUrl, Articles.ArticleType as ArticleType, Articles.Category as Category, Articles.cntnlang AS cntnlang, RacingSeries.RewriteUrl AS RacingSeriesRewriteUrl FROM Articles INNER JOIN RacingSeries ON Articles.RacingSerieId = RacingSeries.RacingSerieId WHERE Articles.cntnlang = :siteLang AND Articles.SiteId = :siteId AND Articles.Activated = 1 AND Articles.PublishDate < :publishDate AND Articles.ArticleType IN (:param0, :param1, :param2) AND Articles.ArticleId < :articleId ORDER BY Articles.ArticleId DESC LIMIT 1	{"siteLang":"en","siteId":"1","publishDate":"2026-02-04 09:20:00","articleId":200594,":param0":"Nieuws",":param1":"LiveRaceReport",":param2":"Liveblog"}
	0.209566		cacheAble: yes		module:News\Result (0Q - total module time: 0.00015998s)	""
	0.209729		cacheAble: yes		module:News\Photos (0Q - total module time: 0.00012302s)	""
	0.209855		cacheAble: yes		module:News\Trending (0Q - total module time: 0.00010705s)	""
	0.209965		cacheAble: yes		module:News\Reply (1Q - total module time: 0.30296397s)	""
0.29526901	0.210381	/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/CommentVotes.php		/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Connection.php:1323(stopQuery) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Query/Exec/SingleSelectExecutor.php:31(executeQuery) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Query.php:325(execute) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/AbstractQuery.php:1212(_doExecute) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/AbstractQuery.php:1166(executeIgnoreQueryCache) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/AbstractQuery.php:901(execute) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/CommentVotes.php:192(getResult) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/CommentVotesManager.php:46(getCommentVotesByVoteIp) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Modules/News/Reply.php:101(getCommentVotesByIP) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ModuleBase.php:115(internalRender) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ModuleBase.php:89(captureOutput) {"function":"F1T\\{closure}","class":"F1T\\ModuleBase","object":{"_amp":false},"type":"->","args":[]} /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Cache.php:144(call_user_func) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ModuleBase.php:92(lazyFetch) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/ViewRenderer/TwigExtensions/ModuleRenderer.php:35(fetch) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:549(renderModule) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:182(block_mainContent) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:62(displayBlock) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:182(block_content) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:715(displayBlock) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:405(doDisplay) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:378(displayWithErrorHandling) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:45(display) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:405(doDisplay) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:378(displayWithErrorHandling) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:46(display) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:405(doDisplay) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:378(displayWithErrorHandling) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:390(display) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/TemplateWrapper.php:45(render) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php:318(render) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/ViewRenderer/TwigRenderer.php:115(render) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ViewTrait.php:98(render) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ViewTrait.php:79(renderViewFile) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:261(render) /var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)	SELECT c0_.CommentId AS CommentId_0, c1_.Vote AS Vote_1 FROM Comments c0_ INNER JOIN CommentVotes c1_ ON (c1_.CommentId = c0_.CommentId) WHERE c0_.ArticleId = ? AND c1_.VoteIp = ?	[200594,"216.73.216.130"]
	0.512932		cacheAble: no		module:Sidebar (0Q - total module time: 0.01066208s)	""
	0.523599				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00001788s)	""
	0.523619				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::gpschedule (0Q - total module time: 0.00000381s)	""
	0.523623		cacheAble: yes		module:GpSchedule (0Q - total module time: 0.00031400s)	""
	0.523941				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::results (0Q - total module time: 0.00000596s)	""
	0.523949		cacheAble: yes		module:Results (0Q - total module time: 0.00025582s)	""
	0.524208				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::testcalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00000310s)	""
	0.524212		cacheAble: yes		module:TestCalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00027704s)	""
	0.524492				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)	""
	0.524497				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000215s)	""
	0.524500				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::relatednews (0Q - total module time: 0.00000286s)	""
	0.524504		cacheAble: yes		module:RelatedNews (0Q - total module time: 0.00027585s)	""
	0.524782				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::whoischatting (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)	""
	0.524789				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000286s)	""
	0.524792				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::poll (0Q - total module time: 0.00000215s)	""
	0.524794		cacheAble: no		module:Poll (0Q - total module time: 0.00223398s)	""
	0.527030				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)	""
	0.527036				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)	""
	0.527038				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::gpcalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)	""
	0.527041		cacheAble: yes		module:GpCalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00514603s)	""
	0.532191				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::driver_Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00000811s)	""
	0.532201		cacheAble: yes		module:Driver\Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00013304s)	""
	0.532337				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::team_Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00000596s)	""
	0.532344		cacheAble: yes		module:Team\Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00009799s)	""
	0.532445				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::linkedKeywords (0Q - total module time: 0.00000620s)	""
	0.532451				sidebar:sidebar-news-read::gpsidebarnavigation (0Q - total module time: 0.00000286s)	""
	0.532455		cacheAble: no		module:GpSidebarNavigation (0Q - total module time: 0.00031805s)	""
	0.532775		cacheAble: yes		module:Layout\Footer (0Q - total module time: 0.00021791s)	""
	0.532996		cacheAble: yes		module:News\Breaking (0Q - total module time: 0.00052691s)	""
	0.533525				done	""

Verstappen skipped GP2 out of fear to 'stall' career

Trending news

Replies (0)

Grand Prix of Belgium

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Race / Startgrid

Grand Prix of Belgium

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

World Championship standings 2023

Test calendar

Related news

Verstappen and Albon react to poor Italian Grand Prix for Red Bull

Verstappen to drive new Toro Rosso in simulator

Raffaele Marciello ends F1 hopes

Raffaele Marciello splits with Ferrari and Sauber

To explore boundaries, you have to exceed them - Maldonado

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Driver profile

Team profile