Helmut Marko claims Lando Norris can’t ‘drive faultlessly’ unlike Max Verstappen

Lando Norris has so far amassed 150 points in the 2024 Drivers Championship.

Helmut Marko claims Lando Norris can’t ‘drive faultlessly’ unlike Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Helmut Marko (Via: Imago)

Red Bull have found themselves in the clutches of their rivals this year. This was witnessed at the Spanish GP when McLaren‘s Lando Norris claimed pole position ahead of Max Verstappen. Despite the scare of losing the race, the Dutchman made impressive overtakes and held onto the race win by the thinnest of margins. This has urged Helmut Marko to claim that Norris cannot drive flawlessly like Verstappen, which was the cause for the Brit to lose out on the win in Spain.

Lando Norris qualified on pole by being two-hundredths of a second ahead of Max Verstappen. The pole lap sent a statement in the paddock that Red Bull was not the fastest car anymore. However, come race day, Norris bottled his advantage into turn one and was P3 by the end of the first lap.

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On the other hand, by lap three, the Dutchman got back into the lead and controlled the race ever since. This difference urged Helmut Marko to assert that the Brit cannot drive faultlessly like the three-time world champion.

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Last year saw the resurrection of McLaren at the Red Bull Ring. They brought their upgrade there and from then on they were fast. However, Max[Verstappen] drives practically faultlessly, thank God Lando[Norris] can't do that yet, but he remains our main rival.
Helmut Marko said in his column in SpeedWeek

The Austrian began by remembering the resurrection of McLaren in Austria last year. The papaya team brought an upgrade package that brought them closer to Red Bull.

A similar state of affairs was witnessed this year as the English team has emerged as the main contender to them. However, he further stated that they don’t need to worry much about McLaren as Norris makes several mistakes and cannot drive in the same way as Verstappen.

Helmut Marko hopes for Mercedes’ resurgence

Despite neglecting McLaren’s pace, Marko still fears the prospect of Norris snatching away wins from Red Bull. On the contrary, Mercedes has also witnessed a sudden rise in pace and has thus, emerged as a challenger for the top spots.

Red Bull's Helmut Marko
Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)

This led the 80-year-old to hope for a Mercedes comeback as they could hamper McLaren’s progress.

I therefore hope that Mercedes will get stronger and be the second strongest force for a while, which would certainly help us in terms of the championship.
Helmut Marko said in his column in SpeedWeek

Marko reckoned that if the Brackley-based team halts McLaren in their fight against Red Bull, then they could breathe a sigh of relief. This would help them extend their lead in both championships, while the rest of the teams would take points off each other.

Apart from this, as things stand, Red Bull is leading the championship by 60 points ahead of Ferrari. Thus, an unexpected championship battle could be brewing if the Austrian squad has a bad outing in their home race and rival teams manage to catch up to them.

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