Despite winning 4 championships with Sebastian Vettel, Helmut Marko claims Max Verstappen is much faster than him.
Max Verstappen has an unbelievable talent and is considered one of F1’s future legends. The Dutchman has claimed 30 race wins and a world championship title by the age of 24.
The 2021 F1 champion won his title on the last lap of the last race of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi. The Dutchman pipped Lewis Hamilton claiming his first title following a major controversy.
However, in 2022, Verstappen’s title defence has been a cruise compared to the previous year’s rollercoaster. The Red Bull driver leads the championship comfortable with a 109-point lead over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Before 2021, Red Bull last won the constructors title in 2010 with Sebastian Vettel who claimed his first title with the team. The duo would dominate the sport winning consecutive titles between 2010 and 2014.
Both Verstappen and Vettel won their maiden title in the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi. And both drivers dominated the next season to win with more than 100 points between them and their next contender.
So comparisons are growing between Vettel and Verstappen as the Dutchman is really close to claiming his 2nd title this season. However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko thinks it is dumb to compare the two eras.
Marko said, “In 2010 we won the first title with Sebastian Vettel in the last race. In 2011, defending the title was more of a walkthrough. The comparison with 2010 is a little correct, but you can’t compare 2011 and 2022.”
“In 2011, Ferrari wasn’t as strong an opponent as it is now. They had Fernando Alonso but did not have a good car. This year Ferrari had some technical issues and made some strategic decisions that played into our hands. But in terms of pure speed, unlike in 2011, they are basically on par with us.”
Max Verstappen better than Sebastian Vettel according to Marko
Max Verstappen is no doubt one of the fastest drivers on the F1 grid. The Dutchman is known for his ‘elbows out’, aggressive style of driving.
Recently Verstappen won the 10th race of the 2022 season at his home circuit, Zandvoort. And the Dutchman is just 3 wins shy of equalling another record for most wins in a season, held by Sebastian Vettel.
While Vettel faced Alonso’s threat, Verstappen’s era was dominated by Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes who had dominated F1 since 2014. And in defeating Hamilton and Mercedes, Verstappen made himself quite a name.
No wonder Marko took no time to state, “He is definitely the fastest driver Red Bull has ever had.” Although Vettel was the driver that gave Red Bull more success to date, Max is a future star and will get better with time.
The Austrian added, “Max doesn’t need a build-up phase to be at the limit right away. He can go full throttle immediately. That’s just the unbelievable natural talent and the resulting exorbitant basic speed.”
Marko adores the young Dutchman who has been with the team since the age of 16. So much so, that Verstappen was recently offered a mega contract until the end of the 2028 season.
He is slated to earn $60 Million a year making him one of the highest earners in the current F1 grid. And if he continues his winning streak for couple more races, he will be crowned F1’s newest double World Champion.
