The Red Bull Formula 1 team has been doing extremely well this season thanks to Max Verstappen’s excellent driving and the RB19 car’s impressive performance. Red Bull’s second driver Sergio Perez hasn’t been as spectacular though. Although Perez’s performance has improved recently, it cannot be compared to that of his teammate.
In their most recent race at Spa, Verstappen overtook Perez on the track. Helmut Marko, the racing advisor at Red Bull, has made some interesting statements in response to this. According to him, there are only two drivers on the current grid who can defeat Max Verstappen. This is a bold claim and has added to the excitement and anticipation surrounding the team’s future driver lineup.
Red Bull head Helmut Marko names two drivers who can possibly beat Max Verstappen
During the recent Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Max Verstappen continued to showcase his dominance by achieving pole position in both Friday and Saturday’s sprint qualifying sessions. He then went on to further solidify his position by winning the Sprint race after passing McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. In the main event on Sunday, Verstappen managed to secure an impressive victory despite starting in sixth place due to a gearbox penalty.
According to Helmut Marko, there are only two drivers who may have a chance at defeating Verstappen, namely Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. However, Marko believes that this would only be achievable if they had access to a car that performs better than Red Bull’s RB19. Given the current circumstances, Verstappen’s exceptional skills and pace make him virtually unbeatable on the grid. Helmut recently shared his thoughts on this matter during an interview. He said:
“I would perhaps say, Alonso or Hamilton.” “But in the same car, it would be very difficult.”
He further added that even Sergio Perez in the same car can’t compete with Verstappen. “Second place behind Max is like a victory.”
Max Verstappen currently on eighth consecutive F1 wins streak
The current racing season has been characterized by the complete dominance of Red Bull and their top driver, Max Verstappen. Experts are unanimous in their opinion that they have never seen such an impressive level of control by a team and an individual driver. Even the remarkable successes of Mercedes from 2014-2020 and McLaren during the time of Senna pale in comparison to what Red Bull is accomplishing this year.
The only instance where such domination was witnessed was during the period when Red Bull had Sebastian Vettel from 2010-2013.
Max Verstappen is all set to break Vettel’s record of nine consecutive wins in a row if he continues this momentum after the summer break. “Mad Max” needs just one win at his home grand prix in the Netherlands to take the record from the ex-F1 champ. This seems very likely, as the max with his RB 19 has been unstoppable till now.
What do you think about Verstappen breaking the Swedish Vettel record? and tell us about your views on the claim made by Helmut Marko too in the comments section down below.
