Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez cautioned against doing ‘very stupid’ thing by Helmut Marko

Amid the title battle developing between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the pair have been cautioned by Helmut Marko against doing one particular thing.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez cautioned against doing ‘very stupid’ thing by Helmut Marko

Sergio Perez (L) | Max Verstappen (R)

The 2023 championship looks to be building towards a Max Verstappen–Sergio Perez title battle. Right now, they’re the only contenders, and it seems that the RB19 will be very dominant. So, anyone getting at their car’s level is unlikely. Just how close this battle may get – it’s hard to say. But till now, the pair of them have traded wins. Verstappen currently leads, by 12 points.

Most would say that he has a better shot at winning the title as well. After all, he’s beaten his teammate rather comfortably over the past two years. Many had even begun to consider Perez the second driver. But the Mexican has clear ambitions to fight and win the title. There is also the potential of fireworks between the pair, with there being often reports (that have been denied) that there are tensions between both camps.

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They haven’t gone ‘properly’ wheel to wheel this season, as they have been managed well by Red Bull. Nevertheless, Verstappen had to get past Perez to win in Miami. That happened without much fuss or incident. Speaking about this, Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s special advisor, told De Telegraaf: “They are both mature enough to fight normally, especially with such a dominant car. It would be very stupid to hit each other and Checo [Perez] also knew at that moment that Max had much better tires.”

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Read More: Helmut Marko blasts Mercedes for its ‘manipulative tricks’ to diminish Red Bull’s DRS advantage

Helmut Marko: Miami GP one of Max Verstappen’s ‘best performances’

Max Verstappen will start the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP on pole position
Max Verstappen

Miami was another to add to the list of Max Verstappen’s dominant victories. The Dutchman was magnificent, and MUCH faster than his teammate. At one point, he was setting faster times on older hard tires than Sergio Perez was doing with fresh ones. Speaking of this, Helmut Marko said: “This was an incredible race by Max. He was fast, but also kept an eye on his tires. That he still set the fastest lap time on the penultimate lap [of his first, hard tire stint] was impressive.”

And the Austrian even considers the last weekend to be one of Verstappen’s best performances. “Excluding that little moment in qualifying on Saturday [partly why he only qualified P9], this was one of Max’s best performances. We were still a little worried beforehand in case there was a Safety Car, but that was not the case. Once he drove in the clear, Max was unstoppable.”

The next round is Imola, where Verstappen has won twice before. If he comes out on top, and the odds are stacked in favor of him, it will be his third win in a row. And it will further cement him as the title favorite. However, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin may ALL bring upgrades to Imola. If this happens, and everything goes well, Red Bull’s domination may finally be better challenged.

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