‘He is the BEST DRIVER’: Helmut Marko reveals why Max Verstappen has come up trumps in his battle with Sergio Perez

‘He is the BEST DRIVER’: Helmut Marko reveals why Max Verstappen has come up trumps in his battle with Sergio Perez

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko with Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has been a part of Red Bull family since 2015, where he was in Toro Rosso, and the following year, he managed to get into Red Bull, that was also the year he won his first ever F1 race at the Spanish Grand Prix, making him the youngest driver till date to win a race in the sport. This record was previously held by Sebastian Vettel. Since then, Verstappen has become a fan favorite, and even in the team, after Ricciardo’s exit, he has been the number one driver to Albon and Perez. 

Watch: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez Argue Over F1’s Biggest Debates | Agree To Disagree | @LADbible TV

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As it was seen in the recent races, Sergio Perez slipped out of the second place in the championship but Verstappen has managed to maintain the lead. Helmut Marko explained the reason for this sorcery. Since Verstappen is the primary focus of the team, he is well adapted to the Red Bull cars and he has no issues with the handling or the driving whatsoever. 

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“Max likes a car that is good at the front,” Helmut said to Motorsport-total.com.

“What the rear does, doesn’t really matter to him. If the rear breaks out at three hundred kilometres per hour, Perez – like all the drivers before him – says the car is undriveable, whereas Max doesn’t mind that at all,” he added. 

He also explained that this is the same reason for the emphasis of the ‘Verstappen factor.’

Also read: Alain Prost vs Ayrton Senna: F1’s most iconic rivalry that would give Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton a run for their money

Marko explains Max Verstappen’s influence over the team 

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen at the Monaco GP
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen

According to Marko, the fact that Max Verstappen has been able to adapt to the car so well, and which has made the team to develop the car more in his way, the Verstappen factor emphasizes, taking most of the team’s attention to the Dutchman and his performance. 

It has been observed throughout this and the previous season that Sergio Perez was mostly used to support Verstappen in winning a Grand Prix, or to hold up another driver for his teammate to make up in the meantime. This also led to many questions by the fans in the team, to which their simple reply was that they would “let them fight,” if it was for the title win. 

Also read: “He wouldn’t get another chance,” Ralf Schumacher believes Daniel Ricciardo is in a spot of bother for the 2023 season

Also read: “It’s actually quite exciting,” Andrew Shovlin believes Mercedes is on the right path to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari