‘We’ll see a different Max Verstappen in Australia,’ Helmut Marko’s words serve as a warning to Sergio Perez and Red Bull F1 rivals

Helmut Marko has said that 'we will' see a different Max Verstappen in Australia, after a stomach bug put him back on the fitness front in Jeddah.

‘We’ll see a different Max Verstappen in Australia,’ Helmut Marko’s words serve as a warning to Sergio Perez and Red Bull F1 rivals

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen had to ‘settle’ for a P2 finish last weekend at the Saudi Arabian GP. His teammate, Sergio Perez, won the race, having started on pole position. It was a weekend of setbacks for the Dutchman. First, he got a stomach bug, which meant he only arrived in Jeddah on Friday. Then during Q2, having looked incredible all weekend, his car had a driveshaft issue. This meant he had to retire from the session, and would start P15 as a consequence.

During the race, he made great progress and was further helped along by a timely safety car on lap 18. He pit under that, which in effect, reset the race for him. He eventually made his way up to P2, but that would turn out to be the maximum. His teammate was able to match his pace. Verstappen also began to suffer from a recurrence of the driveshaft issues, though they were not terminal. But nevertheless, he snatched the fastest lap on the last lap, despite being told earlier to keep the pace.

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Of course, he was not happy with P2 – he wanted to win. And it’s possible that had he not had those issues, he would’ve come out on top in Jeddah. There’s also the stomach bug, which, no doubt, did not help him. He got some criticism, including from Nico Rosberg, for apparently ‘skipping’ the team meeting on Saturday. But as confirmed by Helmut Marko, that was related to the stomach problem.

Read More: Helmut Marko reveals why Max Verstappen skipped Red Bull team meeting after Jeddah qualifying disaster

Helmut Marko: Max Verstappen was ‘approximately 80 percent’ fit in Jeddah

Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen

Helmut Marko had earlier told OE24: “Max had just gotten over the bad flu. Did you see how he looked when he got out? It really didn’t go well for him. He wanted to go to bed as soon as possible.” Now he has revealed just how ‘fit’ he thinks Max Verstappen was for the Saudi Arabian GP. From what it looked like, he certainly did not seem to lack anything. Considering the circumstances, he performed admirably.

The Austrian said to F1 Insider: “Max was not one hundred percent fit. But now he is doing everything he can to be able to bring maximum performance again.” and expects the Dutchman to pick it up in Australia: “So we will see a different Verstappen again in Australia.” as for an estimate of Verstappen’s fitness level in Jeddah, the Red Bull advisor said: “In the end he was approximately 80 percent [fit].”

Considering the form Verstappen has been on recently – that should be interpreted as a warning. Except on weekends where he’s had one problem or another, like in Singapore last year or this weekend in Jeddah, he’s been downright unassailable. This may just continue in Australia, though perhaps for the sake of the current regulations – everyone (except Red Bull fans) would hope not.

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