Red Bull junior team boss Helmut Marko has likened the abilities of new Toro Rosso Formula 1 signing Max Verstappen to those of the late Ayrton Senna.

Verstappen will become the youngest driver in F1 history when he replaces Jean-Eric Vergne as Daniil Kvyat’s STR team-mate for the 2015 season.

He has already begun testing in a three-year-old car for his new team, and will make his free practice debut during next month’s Japanese Grand Prix, if the FIA processes his superlicence in time.

Marko has engineered Verstappen’s graduation to F1 after a single season of car racing in European Formula 3, and the Austrian reckons the Dutch teenager’s talents are comparable with those of triple champion Senna, who many consider the greatest driver in the history of the sport.

When asked by the official F1 website to compare Verstappen, 16, to another driver, Marko said: “Most likely Ayrton Senna.

“He [Verstappen] is an exceptional talent that comes along only once in decades.

“You must not look at his age.

“He has been talking with people who are experts when it comes to the development of youngsters and they all say that [in terms of] his mind he is more like 22 than 16.

“And regarding his skills behind the steering wheel, he has been racing since he was four years old – professionally.

“So we expect him to be competitive from the first race.”

Marko shrugged off criticism of the deal.

“We are not playing the lottery – we know what we are doing,” he said.

“And success [with other drivers] proves us right.”