According to Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, there is nobody that can replicate the impact of Max Verstappen. He argues that Verstappen is front and centre of the team’s approach to race weekends.
Marko: Nobody can do what Verstappen does
Heading into next season, there will be a plethora of elite drivers competing at the front.
Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell and Norris can all have realistic ambitions of becoming Champions in 2025.
However, unlike their rivals, Red Bull’s current driver line-up is extremely imbalanced.
Max Verstappen scores the vast majority of the team’s points, with Sergio Perez rarely present in the top 6 positions.
Although this has already proven costly in the constructors, Helmut Marko sees things from another perspective:
“Hamilton and Leclerc will take points from each other,” he told Telegraaf.
“Norris and Piastri too. For us, it’s all about Max.
“There is no other driver who fits in with our environment, who would also become Champion.”
Red Bull give up the teams championship
These comments indicate that Red Bull are somewhat accepting of having one driver contributing the majority of points.
Considering they have kept Sergio Perez until now, perhaps the relatively little importance they give to the constructors title is clear.
However, Marko’s comments still suffer from a clear oversight. It is true that McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have drivers who take points from each other.
When Norris and Piastri or Leclerc and Sainz fight for position, plenty of headlines follow soon after.
With that said, what is often overlooked is that these pairings are also take points away from their rivals.
For example, despite all the discussion about Piastri costing Norris points, the Australian has finished ahead of Verstappen at 6 different races this year.
Whilst these results will not necessarily generate huge attention, they still helped to limit Verstappen’s points.
The opposite is true for Red Bull, who could not rely on Perez to take points away from Norris this year.
In any case, the reigning Champions seem more than content to overlook their failings in the constructors standings for the sake of Verstappen.
