As Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda considered bringing rising star Max Verstappen to Mercedes, Helmut Marko snuck in to take him from them
This was revealed by Gerhard Berger, the former F1 driver and close to Red Bull.
He claims that Mercedes missed a first opportunity to have the Dutchman in its academy, before having to give in to Red Bull who were able to integrate Verstappen into F1 at Toro Rosso.
“It was clear that Max was special. One day I said to Niki Lauda: ‘You should take Max Verstappen’. He said: ‘Who? Jos’s son? Do you think he’s good?’ » I replied: ‘He’s not good, he’s exceptional’.”
“Niki, who was already a consultant at Mercedes, immediately called Toto Wolff on the phone: “We absolutely have to take Verstappen!” But Toto replied with contrition: “Why should we do it? We have Valtteri Bottas and so many good drivers in our academy.”
“They talked about it for a while, and I know they talked about it in the weeks after that as well. Then nothing for a few months when they could have taken it to their academy.”
“Then the story is known, Max won F3 and the subject came back to the table with Jos and Max who were looking for a place in F1. Helmut Marko came by to steal Max thanks to the promise of a seat in F1 quickly…”
When mentioning Lauda, Berger also adds a word about the Red Bull driver.
“Do you know why he reminds me a bit of Niki Lauda? He’s not the type to be influenced by what’s around him. He’s very analytical.”
“Plus, he can admit when he’s wrong. Interesting personality.”
Related News :