Red Bull Content Pool
General
Marko predicts: "Max will get better in the future"
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen is still far from finished in Formula 1 and will become even better. That is what Helmut Marko says in an extensive interview with Sport1. The Red Bull Racing driver is the big star in 2022 and still only 24 years old. Verstappen, a single world champion, is becoming more and more experienced, which brings him a lot during the sessions.
According to Marko, Verstappen is not yet performing at his best. "He is still in a learning phase. Even though it sounds implausible, Max will get better in the future, even though he is already driving at an extremely high level. For example, he takes less risks now, but manages to drive the same or faster lap times every time," Marko said.
Verstappen a lot more patient than before
The Austrian racing driver's advisor mentions the start in Hungary, for example. He says Verstappen had a great start there, but was not tempted into hasty manoeuvres. In his younger days, the Limburger sometimes wanted to make up for lost ground in a hurry, but patience has now entered into Verstappen's vocabulary.
The fact that the RB16B and RB18 are (and have been) incredibly competitive cars also helps. Whereas previously Verstappen had to outperform his car with less material and take certain risks to have any chance of a podium finish, that is no longer the case.
"He just let the other cars pass because he knew he would catch them. Two years ago he would have put up more of a fight - and ended up with a worse result," Marko continued. The Austrian draws the following conclusion: "We are seeing an increasingly better Max, but we haven't seen the best yet."