Red Bull Content Pool
General
Marko and Vettel in communication about Verstappen's record attempt
With Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing have delivered two drivers who became Formula 1 world champions multiple times. One did so between 2010 and 2013, and the other in 2021 and 2022. Speaking to De Telegraaf, Helmut Marko compares the two drivers: On what fronts do the German and Dutchman differ as drivers?
Marko sticks out by saying both men are "great drivers". "For us, it is great that we have, and have had, two such great drivers in our team. We enjoy that enormously," said the 80-year-old Red Bull adviser. "I would say Sebastian was a more strategic worker. He went into every detail. Max is more of a real driver, who tells the engineers what he wants from them and then disappears."
Verstappen had to be more patient
According to Marko, Vettel was lucky to have a better car immediately in his early days at Red Bull. The four-time world champion made his debut for the Milton Keynes-based formation in 2009, and a year later, he had already secured his first world title. It was different for Verstappen, as he joined Red Bull in 2016 but had to wait some five years for a first world championship.
"Max, of course, didn't have that [a good car] initially. Now you see that he continues to improve, even after his first title in 2021. His performance at Zandvoort last week said it all. Whether it was dry, raining or anything in between, he is SO sovereign. And Sebastian is not jealous, mind you. He sent me a message recently and said we should go for 12 wins in a row or something so that the record stays in our hands forever," the Austrian said.
Verstappen currently stands on nine consecutive wins in the pinnacle of motorsport. If the 25-year-old Dutchman wins at Monza this weekend, he will no longer have to share the record with Vettel.