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Marko full of pride: 'Even then Max is still by far the fastest'
Helmut Marko has once again spoken highly of his driver Max Verstappen. The Red Bull Racing advisor sees his driver continuing to deliver every weekend and every session and thinks the success is far from over. Also, the Austrian thinks it is impressive that Sergio Perez has held on alongside Verstappen for three seasons already.
Verstappen praised by Marko
Verstappen achieved unprecedented success in Formula 1 this season. This included the Dutchman winning the most races in a row and setting the most dominant F1 season ever (in terms of victory percentage) with two races to go. Marko stresses that Verstappen is still very young and sees the Dutchman as one of the greatest in F1.
"Definitely, and you have to consider he's 26 years old only, and we don't see the end of his performance. It's continuing. He's delivering every weekend, it doesn't matter if it's raining, sunshine, or cold. He delivers every session. Now he's more routine, he's more patient, he can read the race very well, and he's nursing his tyres. Still being by far the fastest driver," Marko told NewstalkZB's podcast.
'Performance of Perez'
While Verstappen is enjoying unprecedented success in 2023, teammate Perez is struggling. According to Marko, however, the Dutchman makes his teammate look bad. "Checo is a very good driver, but I have to go a little bit back. Max dominated all his teammates and partly destroyed them. So Checo survived already the third year, which is an achievement."
"For a race driver, you have to believe that you are the best. And if you are demolished by a teammate, sometimes by a second per lap, sometimes less, then it's difficult. But he had his, I would say, low mid-season, he recovered again, and now he is on a very good level. But at the moment I can't see anybody who would be on the same level, in the same car, like Max is," Marko concluded.