On Sunday, Max Verstappen clinched victory at the United States Grand Prix in Austin. His title rival, Lando Norris, finished in second place. The British driver might have had a shot at the win, had he not been stuck behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari for a significant portion of the race. Red Bull’s top advisor, Helmut Marko, expressed his gratitude for the Monegasque’s defensive skills. After the race, he jokingly said he owed Leclerc a few crates of Red Bull.
With his victory in Texas, Verstappen reduced his deficit to World Championship leader Oscar Piastri to forty points. The gap to Norris has also narrowed: the Brit is now only 26 points ahead of the Dutchman. Norris might even have won at the Circuit of the Americas, but Leclerc thwarted his efforts, particularly in the early stages of the race. Thanks to the defensive work of the Ferrari driver – who started on soft tyres – Verstappen was able to build a comfortable lead early on.
‘We Have the Fastest Driver’
Helmut Marko is fully aware of how ‘useful’ Leclerc has been for Verstappen. “I should actually send him (Leclerc) a few crates of Red Bull,” Marko joked with the media in Austin after the race. “It was very valuable that we were not put under pressure immediately. However, we had the speed today, even if Lando (Norris) had been right behind us.” Initially, it was thought that McLaren would dominate at the Circuit of the Americas, but Red Bull proved that it is competitive on this type of track as well. According to Marko, the differences between the teams are now negligible.”
“There are no longer any McLaren or Mercedes circuits,” he explained. “The difference in the corners is at most a thousandth.” However, Marko did not agree with the statement made by McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, who claimed that Red Bull currently has the fastest car. Marko countered that with a wink: “No, I don’t agree with that. We have the fastest driver.”
In an interview with Bild, he explained that Max Verstappen is feeling better than he did a few months ago. “He was grumpy and unmotivated. But then he drove in his free time on the Nürburgring and won there. After that, he came back fully motivated. It’s a new dynamic that the whole team is behind.”
