Max Verstappen not only won his third championship this year but also achieved several records in the process. One of them is that he has now registered the third-highest number of victories in F1 history in just his eighth year of racing. Another is that he is now the only driver to lead 1,000 laps in a single calendar year. Even though Verstappen has demonstrated unprecedented dominance, Helmut Marko yet believes that the 26-year-old lacks in one area.
Speaking about this, Marko said as per PlanetF1, “Here and there he gets a little impatient when the car is not exactly to his liking.” Admittedly, Verstappen was indeed regarded as a reckless driver in his initial days when he joined the sport as a teenager.
This is the perfect way to end our extraordinary season I’m extremely grateful for all of the hard work that’s gone into this year by each and everyone of you involved @redbullracing & @HondaRacingGLB To win 19 races in a season is just incredible It’s a privilege to be… pic.twitter.com/vOkhVPyD0k
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 26, 2023
However, things seemed to have improved drastically since then as he matured over the time as years passed. Despite this, Verstappen is often seen to lose his control when things don’t go his way.
The 2023 Singapore GP when he finished in P5 is one such example. Moreover, even during the 2022 United States GP, Verstappen was annoyed at his team and his race engineer for an awfully slow stop. Yet, Marko believes that Verstappen’s growth has been next to impossible.
Helmut Marko did not forget to praise Max Verstappen
In the same interview, Helmut Marko said, “He has made a very decisive step in tire management. He can drive at the limit without pushing the tires. He knows how far he can go. We haven’t seen the peak yet.”
19 wins out of 22 races pic.twitter.com/a3Dsti7vMy
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 26, 2023
Marko believes that Verstappen has not achieved his peak yet despite the Dutchman obliterating the field in 2023. Verstappen won 19 out of 22 races this season and 44 victories in just his last three years.
This year, his race win percentage was over 86 percent, which is a staggering statistic in itself. Nevertheless, Verstappen’s reign of terrorizing his opponents is likely to continue in the upcoming season as Red Bull and Adrian Newey are gearing up to build RB-20 which is expected to be nothing but a menace to their rivals.
