Max Verstappen has established himself as one of the faces of modern-day Formula 1. He is considered a generational talent and is easily one of the best drivers to have adorned the sport. Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko recently revealed the secret criteria that Verstappen fulfilled, which led to Red Bull giving him a chance in F1.
During his younger days, both Mercedes and Red Bull scouted Verstappen and he could join either team. However, the Dutch driver was recruited by Red Bull after Toto Wolff failed to give him a seat in Mercedes.
He’s already matched Ayrton Senna’s record for #F1 race wins 🏆️
Can we now consider Max Verstappen as one of the sport’s ‘greats’? pic.twitter.com/cYlf0CoaA2
— Autosport (@autosport) June 23, 2023
This has turned out to be one of the best decisions that Red Bull has made. Max Verstappen is powering the Milton Keynes outfit into a new era of dominance and Red Bull is reaping the results of their decision to give Verstappen a chance in F1.
Helmut Marko and his secret Formula
Helmut Marko recently appeared on the Inside Line F1 podcast and revealed his process behind identifying talented drivers and picking them up for Red Bull. Marko explained that he watches all the junior categories and then sits down personally with the drivers that he feels have the potential to make it to the top.
Marko revealed that he normally spends around twenty to thirty minutes with each driver. However, this was not the case with Max Verstappen. Marko said, “The only exception was Max! With him, I was talking more than one hour, an hour and a half.”
Helmut Marko was then asked about what the secret formula is, that a driver has to fulfill in order to impress him. The Austrian engineer replied that a lot of drivers tend to be fast on the simulators. But in reality, they do not stand out at all.
Therefore, the main thing that Marko looks at is the instinct of the driver. “Instinct is on top of everything,” claimed Marko. He explained that when three drivers go into a corner, the one with the best racing instinct emerges out in front. That is the driver Marko looks for.
Max Verstappen- Red Bull’s Golden Boy
Verstappen has managed to fulfill all the criteria that Helmut Marko looks for in a driver. Verstappen’s aggressive racing nature made him a perfect candidate for Marko.
He made his mark in motor racing when he took part in the 2005 Belgium Championship Mini and ended up winning all 21 races. By the age of 15, Verstappen had won almost all the karting championships.
He then moved into Formula 3 and took the championship by storm at the young age of 16. He finished third in the championship with Van Amersfoort Racing. Verstappen then stepped up to Formula 1 in 2015 as a part of Red Bull’s sister team, Toro Rosso, and the rest, as they say, is history.
🗣️ | Marko says that they made fun of him for comparing Max to Senna but he has been proven right
“A few years ago, I compared Max to Senna and was ridiculed. Slowly, the know-it-alls from back then are running out of arguments.” pic.twitter.com/nlzp5BS3we
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) June 19, 2023
Helmut Marko has always been a believer in the talent of Verstappen. In 2022, he even went to the extent of comparing Verstappen with Ayrton Senna. Even though he was mocked then, Verstappen recently overtook Senna’s record of 41 race victories. With how things are shaping up, Verstappen is set to break quite a few more records.
