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Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko has admitted that the change that he sees in Max Verstappen these days surprises him as well.
Marko revealed that when Verstappen joined the team, he was still impulsive and very young. Having said that, the way he drove a mature drive to win the race in Hungary last week was something that even he had not even expected.
The Austrian said:
“When we brought Max to Formula 1 at the age of 17, he was the greatest talent I have ever encountered. Although he was still too impulsive. With each victory, he has become more powerful. When he kept his peace at the start in Budapest while overtaking, I thought: is that really Verstappen sitting there? If he is so supremely powerful, he makes it easier for the whole crew.”
Helmut Marko also talked about the contrast that Red Bull enjoys this season as compared to the battle last season. Last year's battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton was not only aggressive on the track but off it as well, with snarky comments made by the drivers towards each other. The biggest highlight of it all was how the two team principals went after each other in the media.
The rivalry between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner was intense and almost uncomfortable to watch at times, with words flying in both directions. In contrast, Verstappen's rivalry with Charles Leclerc has been very respectful between the two drivers and there does not seem to be too much bad blood either.
Helmut Marko admitted that it's a shame Ferrari was making these many errors but expected the team to come back strong, especially because the team had a very strong car on all tracks. He said:
“It has rarely been so much fun. Almost every weekend is a pleasure, which is very different from last season. Then everything took too much nerves. It’s a shame that Ferrari makes so many mistakes. Those performances are unworthy of Ferrari. We sincerely regret that, but they will be back. They have a very strong car.”
I want to see Max Verstappen's performance is appreciated!: Helmut Marko
The Red Bull advisor hoped that amidst all the buzz around Ferrari's mistakes, Max Verstappen's performance would get the appreciation it deserves. Marko said:
“I just want to see that Max’s performance is appreciated enough. After the bad luck in qualifying, he started from tenth place on a track where people don’t expect to have a chance from behind. If he had been standing, he would have just driven away.”
In the first three races of the season, Max Verstappen was 46 points behind Charles Leclerc in the championship. Since then, there has been a complete turnaround as heading into the summer break, Verstappen now holds an 80-point lead in the championship. The Red Bull driver is the runaway favorite this season and it will be very interesting to see if Ferrari can mount a comeback in the second half of the season.
