Verstappen rated very highly by engineer

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen's Race Engineer, Xevi Pujolar, has described the Dutch youngster as the best he has ever worked with in Formula 1, as preparations ramp up for his debut campaign at Toro Rosso.

Verstappen got his first taste of the team's new STR10 during last week's Jerez test, following a series of free practice outings at the end of last season, and private test outings over the winter.

From their time together so far, Pujolar – who has previously worked with the likes of Mark Webber, Juan Pablo Montoya and Eddie Irvine – says 17-year-old Verstappen sits at the top of the list.

"He's the best I've seen so far. You can see the potential is there. You can see he's going up," Pujolar, whose Formula 1 career stretches back to 2002, told GPUpdate.net.

"Now he needs to deliver. He's here to be in the points all the time. He's got the talent. He's fast. But from being fast to winning races is a big gap. And from winning races to becoming a champion is another big step.

"He's shown that he can do well in previous championships but now he's got a lot of champions around him and he has to show that he's the best of the champions. He needs to develop in a very short period of time."

Pujolar said Verstappen's level of discipline and focus sets him apart from other young drivers, and that he is already pushing the team to work even harder.

"Some guys might be 10 or 15 years in motorsports, or even in Formula 1, and their level of professionalism will never be as good as Max's is at the moment," Pujolar added.

"One thing that's very impressive with him is how much discipline he has and how focused he is. A lot of young drivers are also thinking about other things like going out. With Max it's only about racing.

"He wants to be the best and he works 100 per cent for that. He wants the people around him to work just as hard. He's pushing the engine guys, he's pushing me and he's pushing the team."