Dr Helmut Marko admits that Max Verstappen will definitely win his fourth Formula 1 world championship in 2024.
Before Brazil, amid a turbulent season for Red Bull and persistent performance issues, the Dutchman was losing points to Lando Norris and McLaren.
Additionally, Verstappen, his father Jos and team advisor Marko have all hinted at a clear pro-British bias within the media and even FIA officials.
“All this nonsense that has been spread, and then this is the response we wanted to see from Max,” quips Marko after Verstappen stormed back from 17th on Sunday to win the Brazilian GP and increase his lead over Norris to 62 points.
This means that Verstappen can realistically win the drivers' title next time in Las Vegas (scenarios can be found here) – with two full Grands Prix including a Sprint to follow after that.
“Max was flying. He was perfect and you can't say the same for Lando Norris.”
Marko therefore takes a dig at Norris by saying that the São Paulo Grand Prix had shown who was the “true champion”.
“Is this a giant step towards the title? No, I think it's already the title.”
Marko was confident before the race that Verstappen would at least get back on the podium, leading to a friendly bet with the driver's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase.
“I had a bet with Max's race engineer that Max would make the podium. Lambiase didn't think so. We bet $100, but I said only a podium and no win. I won anyway. But Max always wants to do better.”
“He was riding in his own world. When he could ride in the open air, without the splashing water, he was flying around the track. He did some sensational overtaking. I said he would end up on the podium , but with such a demonstration it was possible to do more and therefore he gave the right answer to what was happening lately.”
Marko reveals, however, that Verstappen was one of those who called on race management to stop the event.
“He wasn't the only one, but when it rained a lot, he also begged for the race to be stopped.”
“I don't understand why they did two more dangerous laps, but it was a demonstration from Max. It's the right reaction to everything that's been happening lately.”
“It's thanks to his incredible control of the car, especially in the rain. This instinct pushes him to explore the limits much more than anyone else. This was already the case in 2016, during a similar race. The world title is at hand.”
