Helmut Marko Draws Line on Max Verstappen’s Celebration as He Reveals One More Goal for the Team

Max Verstappen officially became a three-time Formula 1 world champion at the Lusail International Circuit on Saturday. After a late resurgence during the Safety Car-hit Sprint Race, the Dutch lion secured the requisite points to be crowned champion with his teammate, Sergio Perez crashing out mid-race. Naturally, the Red Bull garage was up in raptures. However, team advisor, Helmut Marko has warned the team about partying too hard, as one last goal still remains to be achieved, per Viaplay.

It was a trademark Verstappen performance once again today. The 3x champion has been dominant all season long, and true to his form, he sailed to a P2 finish today at the Sprint event to seal the championship.

MAX VERSTAPPEN, YOU’RE A TRIPLE WORLD CHAMPION 👑 #TreBull pic.twitter.com/uj7ByKSL3P

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 7, 2023

The magnitude of this glorious triumph can only be understood by the events happening in the background. While Verstappen stormed to championship success, Oscar Piastri, the rookie, recorded his first F1 win. But the spotlight wasn’t on him. Indeed, it was on Verstappen, who is already being tipped to

Helmut Marko rains on Max Verstappen’s championship parade with a healthy reminder

Understandably, Marko was ecstatic with Verstappen’s championship win. He said, “It’s incredible. I have known him for ten years. He continues to amaze me. It’s unbelievable how good he is. The safety car ruined our chance to take the full spoils today. We could have gone for the win, but we are world champions and that’s all that matters.”

But Marko was quick to remind his team that the celebrations must be delayed as an important day awaits them tomorrow. Speaking about the main Grand Prix, he explained, “We will have a small party in the hotel. We want to win the race tomorrow anyway and so we have to stay fit. You can’t fully concentrate with a light head.” 

“Helmut Marko said to us it’s gonna be an expensive party in Qatar, because alcohol is quite expensive there”

Max: “Sorry? 😅 I think thats the least of Red Bull’s concerns”

😭😭 red bull catering is back in full force! pic.twitter.com/rKl9SF1YhZ

— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) September 24, 2023

In 2023, the Bulls have won it all. Be that as it may, Marko’s words are a window into the commitment of the team to even breach excellence. Safe to say, the team aren’t going to lag into complacency as nothing short of a win will satisfy Max Verstappen and Co. despite the historic feat that they achieved today.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull now have a target on their backs

The RB19 has been utterly dominant all season long. However, as the year has progressed, the other teams have clawed back performance. But no one has done a good enough job as McLaren. Today’s Sprint Shootout was the first inkling of how close the Woking-based team has gotten to the Bulls as both, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris out qualified the Dutchman.

Needless to say, if McLaren can keep this trajectory up, 2024 is going to spice things up. With a state-of-the-art bespoke Wind Tunnel now operational, the British team has all the tools at its disposal to eke out the gap even further to Red Bull. 2024 is the best chance of solidifying the hard work of 2023 that has turned a troubled MCL60 into a giant killer.

That being said, McLaren isn’t the only team Red Bull need to worry about. Both Ferrari and Mercedes have shown developmental potential, too. And with the Milton-Keynes-based team seemingly stagnating with performance, it’s only a matter of time before either or all of the trio catch up to them.