Toro Rosso F1 signing Max Verstappen says Macau entry part of plan

The 17-year-old Dutchman, who finished third in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, had no need to compete in Macau from a career point of view, but he always wanted to contest the classic November street race in his Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara-Volkswagen.

"It was always the plan to do Macau, and it's because of racing in Formula 3 that I'm now in Formula 1, so we have to finish the season as planned," Verstappen told AUTOSPORT.

"Red Bull told me I could learn something from it, to drive between such close walls, and anyway, maybe I will never get the chance to do Macau again."

Macau GP 2014 entry list

Verstappen has competed in the Macau kart race, but his only knowledge of the Guia street track will be taken from videos and time in the Van Amersfoort and Red Bull simulators.

"I've seen some on-boards and videos," he said, "and I know that the main thing is to stay on the track and get as many laps as you can.

"It helps having the track on the sim, but always in real life it's different."

Verstappen pinpointed his regular F3 rivals as his main opposition, and said he's "not scared" about Formula Renault 3.5 title contender and fellow F1 Friday practice driver Roberto Merhi stepping back to contest the race.

Verstappen will have three more Friday practice outings with Toro Rosso this season, starting this weekend at the US Grand Prix, but he said that reverting to F3 in Macau will not pose a problem.

"I think it's maybe a help," he said. "When you go back to the F3 it's a lot slower - you have more time to react."

He did admit that it could be difficult in Macau - Van Amersfoort Racing's only trip there in recent years was in 2012, when it had only just returned to the top echelon of F3, and its two drivers Lucas Auer and Dennis van de Laar suffered a spate of rookie crashes.

"The team also has to learn Macau," said Verstappen. "Carlin and Prema have much more experience but we have competed against them so far very well, and so far we've been very good on street tracks."