Helmut Marko, the Red Bull Motorsport consultant, has come to the defence of Sergio Perez amidst criticism of his performance. Marko notably asserted that even esteemed drivers like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton would find it challenging to outperform Max Verstappen.

Marko’s comments followed Perez’s second-place finish at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, where he trailed Verstappen by 22 seconds. Despite Perez leading the race after the initial lap, Marko expressed that such an outcome, placing second behind Verstappen, should be considered a significant achievement.

 

“P2 behind Max is like a win these days,” explains Red Bull Motorsport consultant Helmut Marko after the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix second place in the all-time best list.

Despite only starting from sixth on the grid due to a penalty, the Dutchman ended up winning by a margin of 22 seconds over team-mate Sergio Perez, who had been leading the Grand Prix after the first lap.

Marko Perez doesn’t blame him for that. “His qualifying was good this weekend and his race was good too. If you take away from Max, then he’s in front. But Max is Max and he’s something special,” explains the Austrian.

 

 

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Verstappen already on par with ‘the greats’ of F1

Marko lauded Verstappen’s prowess, placing him among the elite ranks of Formula 1 history alongside legends like Fangio, Schumacher, and Senna. The Austrian consultant believes Verstappen’s extraordinary ability to conserve tyres, maintain speed, and read the race sets him apart.

Marko is even clearer and emphasizes: “People have to realize that he is already one of the best in the history of our sport. You have to count him among the very best together with Fangio, Schumacher and Senna. And he will only be 26 in two months .”

Therefore, in his opinion, criticism of Perez is often unjustified. In the podcast ‘F1 Nation’ he clarifies: “There is no other driver who could stay on the same level as [Max]. 

“Maybe [Fernando] Alonso and [Lewis] Hamilton would be closer.”

“But nobody could beat him at the moment,” Marko is sure and emphasises:

“He protects the tyres and is still fast. He can read the race.” Verstappen is not only fast, he also has “incredible performance in his head.”

 

 

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Red Bull car dominance 

Addressing the ongoing Red Bull dominance, Marko attributed their continued success to the competition’s inability to match their progress. He expressed surprise at the lack of significant advancements from rivals Mercedes and Ferrari during the winter season, which contributed to Red Bull’s commanding lead.

Marko acknowledged that Red Bull’s substantial lead in the championship standings gives them an advantageous position for the development of their 2024 car. He noted that the team can allocate resources for the upcoming year without compromising their current performance.

“To be honest, we were surprised that the others didn’t do a good job. Because neither Mercedes nor Ferrari made a step forward [in winter],” he says of the competition and explains:

“That’s why we’re [in the championship] so far ahead now.”

“The opponents behind us are constantly changing. Sometimes it’s Ferrari, sometimes it’s McLaren and then it’s Aston Martin or Mercedes who are behind us,” says Marko.

 

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Full sweep of wins in 2023?

Regarding the possibility of Red Bull winning all 22 races of the season, Marko adopted an optimistic perspective, citing the team’s unexpected success in the initial races.

“We don’t have to use all our resources for this year’s car,” he explains.

While conceding that it might seem improbable, he emphasised that the unpredictability of Formula 1 makes such achievements conceivable.

“But we never thought that we could win the first twelve races. So why not?” He grins.

READ MORE: Red Bull activate Perez contract clause

 

 

 

 

 

MORE F1 NEWS: Wolff gives up…

Toto Wolffs latest Horner taunt is rather lame by his standards, indeed some might say he’s ‘given up’ an decades old rivalry between himself and Christian Horner of Red Bull. Critics of Toto Wolff would argue he breezed into Formula One taking advantage of others’ work just in time for Mercedes AMG F1 to receive the dominant power unit of the new hybrid era. This together with the recruitment of Lewis Hamilton saw the team dominate Formula One for the best part of a decade.

Yet the story is more intricate than this and before we examine Toto Wolff’s latest taunt at Christian Horner it’s worth understanding the back story to their fraught and at times outright vicious….. READ MORE ON THIS STORY