Helmut Marko saw enough potential in Max Verstappen to let him become F1’s youngest ever driver with Red Bull, despite critics claiming it was too “dangerous” for the now four-time world champion
Helmut Marko enjoyed the last laugh despite facing backlash over Max Verstappen being too young to race in Formula One.
Red Bull chief Marko brushed off criticism that throwing Verstappen into the deep end as a teenager was “dangerous” a decade ago. That decision now appears to have been a masterstroke, given that the 27-year-old won his fourth world championship on Sunday after finishing fifth at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The racing prodigy was snapped up by Toro Rosso in 2015 at the behest of Marko, who oversees Red Bull’s driver development programme. Aged just 17, he became the youngest ever F1 driver, a record at the time. As the son of ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen, Max didn’t take long to prove his mettle, finishing his first season 12th in the driver’s standings ahead of racing legends like Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.
Marko swiftly promoted him to parent team Red Bull Racing during the 2016 season, where he secured a maiden win in his debut race at the Spanish Grand Prix. By doing so, he shattered another record to become the youngest Grand Prix winner in F1 history at just 18 years and 227-days-old, while simultaneously covering Marko in glory.
Speaking about his decision to throw the Dutchman into an F1 seat on Viaplay’s: Anatomy of a Champion documentary – which is available to stream now via Amazon Prime – the 81-year-old Austrian said: “We were informed that Jos is pushing and training young Max. He was willing and hungry to learn. That already impressed me.
“Drivers in our junior teams are aged between 19 and 20 and Max was 16. So when it became public that he would be in a Formula One car, we received so many negative comments.
“They said ‘such a young guy, he can’t do it, it’s dangerous’ and blah, blah, blah. I said ‘I believe Max is ready, so let’s see how far we can go.’
“He immediately was competitive at Racing and we know what happened [winning on his debut]. Max was on his way up. It was a satisfaction for me.” Marko has certainly had the last laugh with Verstappen proving himself to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time in his short career so far.
He won his first title in 2021 by passing championship rival and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the final race in Abu Dhabi. He then dominated the next two championships in 2022 and 2023, and fended off a challenge from Lando Norris to claim the crown this season with eight Grand Prix wins, including an unforgettable performance in wet conditions in Brazil.
Credit: Max Verstappen: Anatomy of a Champion is available to stream on Viaplay via Amazon Prime from 25 Nov
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