Helmut Marko claims Red Bull is ‘not looking’ for a ‘new’ Max Verstappen

Red Bull Motorsport Consultant Dr. Helmut Marko was recently asked about Red Bull’s talented junior drivers, such as Arvid Lindblad from F3, Isaac Hadjar, who leads the F2 championship, and Liam Lawson. Reporter compared all of them to Max Verstappen and asked Marko how good they are and if he sees any new Max Verstappen among them.

Helmut Marko explained that he wasn’t looking for a new Max Verstappen because Verstappen is unique and unmatched, and it’s difficult for anyone to match his exceptional talent. Marko emphasized that reaching the Dutchman’s level is particularly challenging, especially for someone who would be his teammate. He acknowledged that Verstappen’s unique skills and performance set a very high bar that others would find hard to achieve.

First of all, I’m not looking for a new Max because Max is unique. And it will be difficult for anyone to be his teammate.

Helmut Marko told GrandPrix247

Marko also mentioned that their current second driver, Sergio Perez, was not performing up to expectations. He noted that Perez’s recent performances have been disappointing compared to what was expected. Red Bull has planned to use the summer break as an opportunity to evaluate Perez’s situation and determine the next steps for moving forward. This evaluation will help them decide what changes or decisions might be necessary for the future.

We have a situation where our second driver unfortunately isn’t performing as he should. So we will have an evaluation in the summer break of what we are going to do.

Helmut Marko added

Helmut Marko claimed Pierre Gasly made a mistake thinking he was asking good as Max Verstappen

Helmut Marko said that Arvid Lindblad was just 16 years old, which makes it hard to make a proper judgment about his potential right now. However, he pointed out that during the Feature Race at Silverstone, Lindblad showed impressive performance. Despite facing significant pressure from Gabriele Mini, who is in his second year of racing, Arvid Lindblad managed to defend his position. In the end, Mini wore out his tires while trying to catch up with Lindblad, showing how well the 16-year-old handled the challenging situation.

Lindblad is only 16, so it's hard to judge his potential, but at Silverstone, he faced immense pressure from Mini, who is two years older and more experienced. Lindblad defended his position well, and Mini ended up wearing out his tires trying to overtake him.

Helmut Marko said

Marko highlighted that Lindblad at 16, is very mature and confident, similar to Liam Lawson. Marko suggested that it might be best for drivers like them to first spend a year in VCARB before moving up to the main team. He highlighted they need more experience and cannot simply expect to beat a three-time-world-champion. Marko highlighted the example of Alpine driver Pierre Gasly who believed he was good as Verstappen as his Red Bull teammate in 2019.

For his age, Lindblad is mature and confident for his age, like Liam Lawson. It’s better to start them in VCARB for a year before moving to Red Bull Racing. They need more preparation and experience and shouldn’t expect to beat Verstappen right away. For example Pierre Gasty thought he was as good as Max.

Helmut Marko stated

Certainly, Helmut Marko suggested to his young drivers to gain more experience before challenging exceptional drivers like Max Verstappen. He believed the drivers after entering F1 should start from a mid level team as RB and gain experience their before entering into Red Bull Racing.

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