”He was the faster driver,” Helmut Marko reveals why Red Bull picked Max Verstappen ahead of Carlos Sainz

”He was the faster driver,” Helmut Marko reveals why Red Bull picked Max Verstappen ahead of Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen in 2015 Toro Rosso as teammates.

In 2015, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz shared the Toro Rosso garage as Carlos Sainz began his Formula One career as a Red Bull junior driver (now AlphaTauri).

However, Verstappen’s spectacular promotion to Red Bull in the midst of the 2016 season to replace the suspended Daniil Kvyat for the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix caused their paths to split after just one season as teammates. Verstappen won that race, and the rest is history.

Sainz, on the other hand, stayed with Toro Rosso for two additional seasons before going to McLaren from 2019 to 2020. Sainz was lent to Renault for the final four races of the 2017 season and stayed there for 2018.

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Without a doubt, Red Bull saw more in Verstappen than Sainz, which is why they chose to promote him. However, in an interview, looking back on Verstappen’s progress in Formula 1, Helmut Marko discussed that choice. “There was outrage, because some people thought Carlos had passed,” GPBlog quoted Marko. “His development was also very good and the difference between the two was often minimal. But although he had less experience, Max was the faster driver. That’s why it was our decision to bring him to Red Bull. Carlos was just unlucky to have Max as a teammate.”

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Carlos Sainz recently earned his maiden victory

Carlos Sainz after winning his first F1 victory at Silverstone yesterday
Carlos Sainz after winning his first F1 victory at Silverstone yesterday

Sainz was forced to wait and see if he would also have the chance. He made the decision to back up his words at the conclusion of 2017 and left Toro Rosso for a challenge at Renault. He switched to McLaren in 2019 and then joined Ferrari in 2021. This year, after Ferrari’s amazing performance (relatively), Sainz finally had the chance to score his first ever F1 victory at the British Grand Prix last week. This now makes him stand 4th in the championship, and Max Verstappen leads the championship with a hefty lead. 

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