Helmut Marko admits Max Verstappen ‘won’t give away a victory’ to help Sergio Perez in his second-place battle with Lewis Hamilton

Verstappen eyes for another victory while Perez's woes continue.

Helmut Marko admits Max Verstappen ‘won’t give away a victory’ to help Sergio Perez in his second-place battle with Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen, Helmut Marko, and Sergio Perez (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen has cruised at the front end of the grid during the ongoing 2023 F1 season. He put in a stellar performance during yesterday’s quali and ahead of the upcoming sessions at the Brazilian GP, Helmut Marko has made it known that Verstappen will not hand Sergio Perez a victory to help him in his battle with Lewis Hamilton.

Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton are engaged in an intense battle for second place in the Drivers Championship. While the former has crawled his way to only 240 points in the season so far, Hamilton has had to put in a big shift behind the wheel of the W14 that has very recently started producing potent performance.

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The Red Bull team adviser, Helmut Marko, was recently asked to talk about the same at the iconic Autodromo Carlos Jose Pace F1 circuit. He said:

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Last year, it was about fifth and sixth place, which wouldn't have made a difference. But Max will do his own thing, and he won't give away a victory.

Considering the strong words from the 80-year-old sports veteran, it’s evident that Sergio Perez must rely on himself to stay ahead of Lewis Hamilton. There might not be any assistance from Verstappen. It has been a long-standing pattern at Red Bull since the two have become teammates. But, now, the fans can be certain that there will be changes. So, one might hope for Perez to up his standards.

Max Verstappen has his eyes set on winning the Brazilian GP

While Helmut Marko has ruled out any favors from Max Verstappen to Sergio Perez during the remainder of 2023, the Dutchman’s immediate target is to triumph in the Brazilian Grand Prix. He has secured pole position for the race. So, he is going to be the favorite ahead of the race.

Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

On the other hand, Sergio Perez starts from a frustrating ninth due to a yellow flag incident in Q3. The Mexican had bad luck riding on his end as he was caught out by a yellow flag during his timed lap in Q3.

However, this weekend’s Sprint format offers Perez a chance to earn points. So, all eyes will be on both Verstappen and Perez’s exploits during the remainder of the Brazilian weekend.

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