Max Verstappen became a part of the Red Bull family in August 2014. Helmut Marko, who was primarily responsible for bringing him to the team, recently revealed the discussions behind the scenes, when his move was being finalized.
Speaking on ‘Inside the Line‘ podcast, Marko revealed how he admitted to then-Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz that signing Verstappen would be a huge risk for them.
At just 16, Verstappen got the chance to drive an F1 car when Red Bull put him behind the wheel of the RB10 during the 2014 Japanese GP weekend. Although he put up a strong showing, his young age sparked significant criticism from experts. “We got a lot of criticism, you know, ‘it’s dangerous, he’s such a young guy’,” Marko said.
Just a few months later, Verstappen became the youngest full-time driver in F1 history. Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s siter team, signed him up and even though Marko was impressed with Verstappen’s maturity, revealing how he was a “grown man in a young body,” he knew it was a risky move. 17-year-old Verstappen’s age was a real concern.
“When I spoke to Mateschitz I did say, it’s a risk that he’s so young,” Marko added. “He theoretically shouldn’t even be racing in the United States because he wasn’t eighteen.”
After making my F1 debut here in 2014, racing in Japan always brings back memories #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/agWG06E8o5
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 12, 2019
Age wasn’t the only thing Marko and Red Bull were worried about. Verstappen had already gained a reputation for being overly aggressive and had several crashes to his name, prior to signing for Red Bull. However, the Milton-Keynes-based team chose to overlook this, knowing that such incidents were common among new drivers.
After Marko brought Verstappen on board, the latter made several mistakes, including some avoidable crashes. These incidents led to numerous discussions between the team and the young driver. However, instead of considering a replacement, Red Bull groomed him—a decision that ultimately paid off.
After spending a year and a half at Toro Rosso, Verstappen joined Red Bull in 2016, and won his debut race — the Spanish GP.
With time, the number of mistakes he would make gradually went down, and Verstappen turned into a mature, talented racing driver, widely regarded as World championship material. Fast forward to 2024, and he is a three-time title winner, having already established his status as one of F1’s all-time greats.
