Toro Rosso hails "extraordinary" Verstappen
Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost has labeled Max Verstappen's performance in the Monaco Grand Prix so far as "extraordinary".
The 17-year-old rookie finished in second place in the opening practice session – behind reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton – despite it being his first time driving around the Monte Carlo circuit.
Verstappen, the youngest driver in F1 history, completed a strong day with the seventh fastest time in the afternoon.
"We know Max is a very, very highly skilled driver," said Tost. "I was impressed by how he achieved this really, really good time in P1.
"He went out in the morning and from run to run he improved his laptime without making any mistakes.
"His car control and his feedback, it was really, really extraordinary.
"I am very happy that he is in the team."
Tost, whose team has enjoyed a strong start to the season, is not ruling out a podium finish if rain hits the track during Sunday's race.
"We must be realistic," he added.
"There are teams in front of us who have double the budget and a competitive badge and it is not easy to compete against them but we have two drivers, and also a car which is quite competitive and maybe with special weather conditions, maybe if it is raining, to help us to bring of the drivers to the podium."
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted he was also impressed by Verstappen.
"I thought it was super," said Horner. "For a guy that can't rent a hire car yet it is enormously impressive.
"The two Toro Rosso drivers have done a wonderful job this year. It is one of the positive stories in F1."
Share Or Save This Story
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
Max Verstappen reveals laid-back approach to 100-driver Silverstone challenge
Max Verstappen’s short but telling reaction to F1’s new Madrid circuit
The hidden benefit of Max Verstappen’s new F1 deal that Red Bull wants to exploit
Yuki Tsunoda responds to Max Verstappen's F1 2026 claim
Audi to go through with appeal against Yuki Tsunoda's Italian GP result
How Arvid Lindblad has shown that he's found his feet in F1
Max Verstappen reveals laid-back approach to 100-driver Silverstone challenge
George Russell shares childhood Silverstone connection and why he rejected bigger grandstand
WRC Chile: Oliver Solberg extends rally lead as Evans pays road-order price
David Coulthard says Kimi Antonelli proved he is an F1 "phenomenon" at Monza
What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Spanish GP
What F1's risky Madrid bet needs to get right in order to pay off
The deeper meaning of Vettel’s emotional Schumacher demo run at Monza
Why new Madrid F1 circuit will be a "challenging" test of cars and engines
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments