The young Dutchman was already being tipped as a Formula One world champion of the future when he strapped himself into an F3 car to take on the treacherous Guia Circuit in November 2014.
He had one aim in mind, to emulate the F3 victories of his heroes Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, who had conquered the 6.1km of narrow, unforgiving city street track - one of the greatest challenges in motor racing.
Signed a few months earlier by Red Bull's junior team, Verstappen had been guaranteed a 2015 Toro Rosso Formula One seat after only a single season in the European F3 Championship. He won 10 out of 33 races in F3.
"It's definitely unheard of what Verstappen did that year," motor racing expert Mattias Persson said.
"That 2014 season, I think it's one of the standout performances that I've ever seen in motor sports."
This story is from the November 18, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the November 18, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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