Helmut Marko Reveals How He Spotted Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel as Red Bull Champions

There’s hardly any doubt over Helmut Marko’s prowess and contribution to Red Bull Racing. The mastermind from Austria is responsible for bringing out top talents and is the man behind champions like Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. How does he do it? Marko reveals.

In recent times, Verstappen and Vettel are easily the most distinguished drivers when it comes to F1 legacy. And it was the same Marko who spotted them at an early age.

The Dutchman is on his way to pick his third consecutive world title with enormous confidence, while the German has four championships under him. Together, they helped the Milton-Keynes-based team pick up multiple constructors’ championships.

Furthermore, the 80-year-old man is also responsible for Red Bull’s junior driver program as it is the brainchild of the Austrian. However, how did he do it all?

Marko reveals his spotting prowess

The Red Bull taskmaster has recently opened up on how he selects drivers for the team’s junior driver who then goes on to become the driver in the main team if they perform consistently.

When asked about it in the Inside Line F1 podcast, Marko said on the ‘Helmut Marko Formula, “First of all, I’m watching all the junior category races, we also watch Go Kart.”

Red Bull’s junior drivers are tested via ‘The Helmut lap’ in the team’s simulator

Helmut Marko talks more about drivers ‘dealing with pressure’ & importance of qualifying simulations🔽

Like I said, there’s more to our Marko chat on the @insidelinef1pod than Nyck De Vries!#F1 pic.twitter.com/ZIyPtwiZQE

— Kunal Shah (@kunalashah) June 27, 2023

Following this, the veteran revealed that he selects the top drivers from there and has a personal meeting with them. Admittedly, Marko stated that meeting with the drivers is the most important thing for him.

Apart from this, he also unraveled that a driver’s instinct is still important for him while choosing despite having all the telemetry or transponder data to look at.

‘Helmut Lap’ and it’s legacy

Notably, the Red Bull junior drivers are also tested in the team’s simulator at Altsam and it’s called ‘The Helmut Lap.’ Speaking of it, the Red Bull veteran said, “We must have the qualifying simulations. It’s very important”

Admittedly, the Helmut Lap is just one lap, earlier it was four laps. From there on, there are multiple level categories that drivers go through, which also include showcasing individual prowess.

All in all, apart from Verstappen and Vettel, the 80-year-old also brought in the likes of Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, and Carlos Sainz Jr.