17-Year-Old Kid Will Race In Formula 1 Next Year

When Max Verstappen starts his first race in Formula One he will be just 17 years old, the youngest F1 driver ever. Here's how you get picked for the world's top motorsport when you're barely old enough to drive.

Well, young Verstappen is Dutch, so technically he can drive during lessons, and by the time he starts the 2015 F1 season with Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso, he will be able to putter around his home country with a coach onboard. It won't be until halfway through next year before he'll legally be able to drive himself around.

Of course, driving on the road is one thing. Verstappen is the son of ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen, and he got an early start on things. Max had his first kart race at the ripe old age of 7.

As Autosport reports, Verstappen won seven races in the Formula 3 championship this year. That ain't bad, and it probably pisses off everyone who's currently racing in GP2, a feeder series that's supposedly a step closer to F1.

This trend towards younger and younger drivers has been going on for some time, at least since McLaren raised Lewis Hamilton directly from the womb, or since Red Bull crafted Sebastian Vettel in a test tube. The current youngest driver ever to run in F1 is Jaime Alguersuari at 19, one of eight drivers to start at that age.

It's only a matter of time before we have toddlers in F1 cars. I mean hey, at least they wouldn't weight much.

(Hat tip to Formula Freak!)

Photo Credit: Red Bull/Toro Rosso