Max Verstappen is the biggest reason why Red Bull has got back their F1 hegemony. From 2010 to 2013, the Austrian outfit used to be the most dominant team in the sport. That was the period when Sebastian Vettel used to be most dominant racer in the grid. But now the German great has retired. However, there have been some speculations regarding Vettel coming out from retirement. But nothing is really confirmed yet. Nonetheless, the Milton Keynes team had to wait a long time to get back to their winning ways. After all, from 2014 to 2021, their rivals Mercedes dominated the grid. The German team won every constructor title in the turbo-hybrid era.
Later, the regulations changed, and the governing body introduced the ground effect as well as cost cap rules. As a result, from 2022 to the present day, Red Bull has been enjoying domination yet again. But it would not have been possible without Max Verstappen. The Dutch racer won his maiden Driver’s championship in 2021 when Mercedes was still the most dominant team. Then, with the superior cars since 2022, Max has never looked back. Helmut Marko credits the Dutch racer for his solid concentration in racing in the midst of Red Bull’s internal turmoil.
Marko Believes Verstappen Disengaged Himself From Outside Noise To Focus On Racing
Since the start of the year, Red Bull has been going through a lot of ups and downs. Clearly, they are still the most dominant team in the grid. But internally, the situation at the Austrian outfit is not great. It started with a female employee accusing Christian Horner of “Inappropriate behavior.” Later, father of Max, Jos Verstappen said in public that if Horner continues as team principal then the team will tear itself apart. Moreover, this situation got the design chief Adrian Newey really upset. He announced his departure from Red Bull. Newey will leave the team as early as the first quarter of the 2025 season.
Moreover, there were rumors about Max leaving the Austrian team to sign with Mercedes. After all, Toto Wolff said one of his first choices to replace Lewis Hamilton is the reigning champion. There were so many things happening off the track, but Max Verstappen managed to focus on racing and win as many races as he can. Later, Helmut Marko told the Austrian publication OE24, “Max did a great job disengaging himself out of it and concentrate on his performance.” It has been a difficult phase, as per the senior Red Bull advisor, especially since the Horner case is not “Yet settled to my knowledge.”
How The Dutch Racer Thinks About His Role In The Team?
There were information regarding the parent company’s internal investigation into the allegations against Christian Horner. Later, the investigation’s result seemed to free Horner of the allegations, and the parent company, Red Bull GmbH, fired the female employee. In March, at the Australian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen mentioned that he does not want any involvement with these kinds of things.
He told the reporters that, ultimately, he is a driver who needs to consider the performance side of things. After all, that’s why Red Bull hired him. He just wants to focus on his job. Max added that his team informed him that the parent company handled the situation the right way. Verstappen says, “That’s all I know.”
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