Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has claimed that Max Verstappen is still growing stronger after securing his maiden title in Abu Dhabi last weekend.
In a dramatic season finale at Yas Marina, Verstappen snatched victory from title rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap in a move that brought a lot of controversy considering Hamilton had dominated over most of the race.
24-year old Verstappen is not new to Formula 1 as he has been on the pinnacle of motorsports for seven seasons despite the young age. However, Helmut Marko believes that the new champ is yet to get to his ‘climax’.
“He is a driver who I’m sure is not at the end of his abilities,” the Red Bull boss told the BBC.
“We saw his qualifying performance at the last two races, in Jeddah and Abu Dhabi. He did qualifying laps that were so much more than the car could deliver.”
“And that’s why we believe we haven’t seen the climax of Max Verstappen. The more he wins, the more relaxed he gets.”
Max Verstappen made his debut back in 2014 just aged 17 years driving for the Red Bull junior Formula 1 team Toro Rosso(currently AlphaTauri) in the Japanese Grand Prix Free Practice. In the 2015, the Dutchman got a seat with the team before getting promoted to the senior team the following season. On his debut year with Red Bull, Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix. This proved to Red Bull that they were already having a champion.
Helmut Marko also admits that he spotted the young talent in Formula 3 just 15 years old, adding that Verstappen’s fast learning and development impressed him.
“The first serious discussion I had with him was when he was 15. I saw him in a Formula 3 race where he was so much better than anyone else,” said Marko.
“It was wet and dry conditions and after this race, which he won by miles, I had a discussion with him for nearly two hours normally with a young person I talk for 20 minutes – and I was surprised what a mature human being he was in a very young body.”
“His determination or his will to win…he knew what he wanted to do,” Marko continued.
“We were talking about the future and so on and after two or three weeks we said ‘forget all the other junior activities, we go straight into Formula 1.”
