The resurgence that Red Bull initiated from the Italian GP, giving Max Verstappen a renewed shot at the world title, is largely due to the driver, according to Helmut Marko. “Max, with his experience, has played a significant role in the technical discussions.”
For a year, there was little progress. Max Verstappen had been complaining since last year, then with the RB20, about the unpredictability and imbalance of his vehicle. In 2024, he still managed to secure his fourth world title, but this year he played a secondary role until the Italian GP. The McLarens were often dominant. A new floor under the RB21 in Monza partly led to the resurgence. “All changes and adjustments have come together in an optimal way,” believes Red Bull’s advisor Helmut Marko. “That’s why the car is now more competitive. Max, with his experience, has played a significant role in the technical discussions.”
According to Marko, this voice is now much more and better heard due to the arrival of Laurent Mekies, originally an engineer, as the new team boss and successor to Christian Horner. “It was important that the engineers started listening more to Max. They did before, but not to the extent they do now,” Marko states during a conversation in Mexico City. “You know, before it was more about numbers on the simulator or CFD (computational fluid dynamics). Max told the engineers what he needed, gained more confidence in the car, and it became easier to drive. The ‘window’ in which the car operates has become larger,” says Marko.
Verstappen has reduced the deficit in the world championship, which was 104 points behind Oscar Piastri after the Dutch GP, to 36 on Lando Norris, the new leader in the standings since his victory in the GP Ciudad de Mexico, through four victories (including a sprint race), a second and third place.
