Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko feels that Max Verstappen is the best driver to ever race for the Austrian team in F1.
Max Verstappen was always tipped to be a World Champion since he made his F1 debut in 2015. In 2021, he lived up to those expectations after dethroning Lewis Hamilton to win his first World Title.
Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko feels that Verstappen’s achievements with the team so far have surpassed the legacy set by Sebastian Vettel.
Those are extremely strong words considering the fact that Vettel was a 4-time World Champion with Red Bull from 2010-13. Marko feels that Verstappen performs better for the team than Vettel did during his time there.
The Dutchman has won 20 races with the Milton-Keynes outfit and etched his name into history when he became the youngest F1 race winner at just 18 years old, at the Spanish GP in 2016.
Helmut Marko has been with Red Bull since 1999, and he is adamant he’s never had a driver better than Max Verstappen in his team.
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Max Verstappen does not need to ‘warm up’ before a fight, says Marko
When asked whether Verstappen is the best driver Red Bull ever had, Marko replied with, “Yes, without a doubt he is.”
“What makes him stand out the most? He doesn’t need a warm-up lap,” he continued.
“If it rains somewhere, the others do five or eight laps. Then Max goes out and sets the fastest time on the first lap. Or Jeddah, nobody knew the track. The others were driving again. Max goes out…bang! Three times fastest sector. That is one of his fascinating qualities.”
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Verstappen has been in the Red Bull ranks since his very first day in F1. He made his full debut with Toro Rosso in 2015, is a sister team of theirs.
Six years later, he passed Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi GP, to become Red Bull’s first World Champion since Vettel in 2013. After the race, the 24-year-old made it clear that he is ecstatic with life in the Red Bull car.
“I’m very happy where I am right now. And I do hope we can do this together for another 10 or 15 years,” Verstappen said after winning the title.
