Father: No celebrations after Max's podium

Jul.5 - Max Verstappen's father says there were no celebration parties after the 18-year-old finished second in Austria.

That is despite the fact that the young Dutchman's mentor, Dr Helmut Marko, admitted to raising a glass to the latest triumph.

"With a good glass of wine," he told De Telegraaf newspaper, when asked how he will celebrate Verstappen's latest podium. "And maybe even a Heineken.

"It's incredible how Max drove, because P2 surpassed all our expectations. Max had the perfect balance between fast laptimes and dealing with the tyres. It was a repeat of Barcelona," Marko added.

Indeed, F1's global fans agreed, awarding Verstappen the 'driver of the day' title for the third time this season.

Max's dad Jos, however, was not in a party mood.

"No, we're taking it easy," he insisted. "We celebrate like this only with victories."

But that doesn't mean the former Benetton and Minardi driver is being hard on Max, as he admits he is already a much better driver than he ever was.

"Max is long past me now. He's twice as good," said Jos.

Even F1 legend Niki Lauda, who is Mercedes' team chairman, agrees with that.

"Max is the most promising talent I've seen in years," he told Welt newspaper.

"The boy has the attitude of a world champion."

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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