After more than twenty years of loyal service, Helmut Marko bid farewell to Red Bull Racing in December. During his tenure, the advisor witnessed many talented drivers, but only Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen won multiple world championships for the Austrian team. Marko now compares the two drivers: ‘Initially, Max relied more on his natural instinct’.
Former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was instrumental in the Formula 1 careers of both Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. The two drivers subsequently became the most successful for Red Bull to date, each with four world titles to their name. Marko has since hung up his advisory hat, but takes one last look back at the early days of both world champions.
According to the Austrian, Vettel and Verstappen initially approached a race in very different ways. “Vettel was more analytical and spent hours and hours with the engineers to squeeze the last bit of performance out of the car,” Marko reveals to German publication Merkur. “Max initially relied more on his natural instinct, but he has since grown into a driver who knows exactly what he wants and can also lead a team.”
Rare Verstappen
The former Red Bull executive previously described his relationship with Verstappen as ‘the most intimate I’ve ever had with a driver’, and he reiterates his words now. “Verstappen is special. Super fast, incredibly talented, and extremely focused,” Marko praises the driver. “I’ve never had such a close bond with another driver. He has steadfast values that I would only attribute to people with good character. This combination is extremely rare.”
