Atmosphere between Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso was quite toxic, claims Helmut Marko

Carlos Sainz teamed up with Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso in 2015 and Helmut Marko believes their relationship was toxic.

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen raced alongside each other at Toro Rosso in 2015 and clashed multiple times. Looking back at it, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says that the two drivers had a toxic relationship.

Sainz is also a product of the Red Bull academy like many other drivers on the grid. He teamed with Verstappen at Toro Rosso from 2015 to mid-2016 until the latter was promoted to Red Bull.

At the time, both the drivers were looking to make a name for themselves in the pinnacle of motorsport and that did come with a bit of bad blood.

However, Sainz suggested that it was not true and said that they were much better together than people think. But it seems as though Marko does not agree with that.

F1 debut in Toro Rosso in 2015 with @Max33Verstappen . Tough test, how did you pass it?@Carlossainz55 : “You could tell right away that Max was special, that he had extraordinary qualities. Being able to keep up with him has given me the confidence to continue in F1”#Corriere

— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) April 13, 2021

Rating the Red Bull drivers based on their worst and best traits ahead of the Austrian GP, Marko said that the relationship between the Spaniard and Verstappen was quite toxic.

Marko said, “It was his bad luck to get Max as a teammate. The atmosphere between the two at Toro Rosso was quite toxic.”

“In the setup, we had at the time, I couldn’t see a way of keeping him with us and so he moved to Renault, McLaren and then on to Ferrari.”

Also Read: Carlos Sainz released from hospital after horrific crash

Max Verstappen is the fastest driver Red bull has ever had

Furthermore, Verstappen is usually known as Marko’s child prodigy who paved his way directly from F3 to F1 in 2015. The Dutchman joined the Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso in 2015 at the age of 17 years and became the youngest driver ever to participate in F1.

The 24-year-old now holds a world drivers’ championship title after he pipped the seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, in the 2021 season.

Given all his glorious records and achievements since his debut in F1, the Red Bull advisor has nothing but praise for the reigning champion.

Talkin about him while rating the traits of the Red Bull graduates, Marko said, “There’s currently no one quicker than him over a single lap.”

The Austrian reckons Verstappen is the fastest driver that Red Bull has ever had, and is quickly becoming the most complete racing driver.

Also Read: Max Verstappen can’t understand why Mercedes is happy with flexi-floor clampdown

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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