Marko had to disappoint Sainz: 'Verstappen was the faster driver'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen has been part of the Red Bull Racing team since 2016. However, Carlos Sainz would have come very close to taking his place. Helmut Marko says in an interview with Motorsport-magazin.com.
Sainz and Verstappen joined Toro Rosso together in 2015. Both talents managed to make a lot of impression on the lead. However, when Red Bull decided to move Daniil Kvjat back to Toro Rosso, the stable opted to give Verstappen a chance alongside Daniel Ricciardo.
"There was outrage, because some people thought Carlos had passed," Marko recalled. "His development was also very good and the difference between the two was often minimal. But although he had less experience, Max was the faster driver. That's why it was our decision to bring him to Red Bull. Carlos was just unlucky to have Max as a teammate."
Eventful career of Sainz
It made Sainz wait and see when he too would get a chance. At the end of 2017, he decided to put his money where his mouth was and swapped Toro Rosso for an adventure at Renault. In 2019, he made the switch to McLaren, before joining Ferrari in 2021.