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Marko: 'Perhaps only Hamilton or Alonso would be closer to Max'

31 July 2023 at 19:22
Last update 31 July 2023 at 19:25
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  • Sam Godber

Max Verstappen is in the form of his life. The last eight Grands Prix have all been won by the 25-year-old Dutchman and none of them have been stolen. A 15-second lead at the drop of the flag is the rule rather than the exception, which Helmut Marko says proves how good his pupil is.

Even teammate Sergio Perez, with equal material, cannot even come close to Verstappen's performance, neither in qualifying nor in the race. "For Checo, a second place is like a victory at the moment. Max is hardly beatable. I think maybe only Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso could be slightly closer to him." Perez finished second in Belgium for the first time since early May(GP Miami).

After 12 races in the first half of the season, it is time for a well-deserved summer break, although the 80-year-old Austrian himself would have been fine with finishing a few more GPs. Smiling: "As far as I'm concerned, we'll just go on next week, bam. But for the team members it's nice to have some time off, of course. Max should go and enjoy his holiday," he told De Telegraaf.

Verstappen will mainly relax

Does the summer break come at a good or bad time for the world championship leader? After all, Verstappen has the momentum now. "I don’t think it matters a lot, to be honest. I just want to have a nice time now. Have a bit of time with family and friends and we’ll go to Zandvoort. It’s a completely different track again to Spa but I’m expecting if we do a good job with the set-up, we will be quick," he briefly previewed in the press conference.

Since the return of the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen has won all races, being the strongest on Sunday in both 2021 and 2022. Moreover, he was on pole position twice and with the current form of the RB19, the omens seem good again.