Marko about 16-year old Verstappen: 'Was two seconds faster'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko tells how he discovered the talent of Max Verstappen years ago. According to the Austrian, Verstappen was an exception both on and off the track.
Verstappen astonished Marko
"Everyone has talent," Marko opens at ServusTV. "But this incredible speed, which he showed in a Formula 3 race under constantly changing conditions, convinced and impressed me." The Dutchman drove a full season in European Formula 3 in 2014, in which he managed to win ten races and eventually finished third among drivers.
Marko remembers very well how a young Verstappen tore around the tracks in Formula 3: "I think he was on average two seconds faster than everyone else there. And it was clear that this is an extraordinary talent."
An hour and a half in conversation
For Marko, that one rock-solid season in Formula 3 was enough to bring Verstappen to Formula 1. But before that happened, a special contract meeting also preceded. "He was impressive there too. He prepared and that was one of the longest talks I've had with a driver."
According to Marko, on average, such a conversation lasts around 20 minutes. But the then 16-year-old Verstappen stayed for about an hour and a half talking to Marko.