Marko Names 'Strongest Driver Duo In Paddock' And It's Not Red Bull

Red Bull boss Helmut Marko named the strongest driver pairing on the grid, and interestingly, he didn't his team.

Formula 1 headed to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal for the ninth round of the 2024 season- the Candian Grand Prix.

During the weekend, Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko took part in multiple interviews, one of which was with the local newspaper Le Journal de Montréal.

He discussed a few topics, such as Canada's best drivers, the performances of Lance Stroll, and the feud between Daniel Ricciardo and Jacques Villeneuve. Then he was asked a very interesting question: "Who do you think is the best driver duo in the paddock?"

Normally, team bosses tend to back their own drivers and often claim their driver pairing is the best and strongest, but it wasn't the case with Marko. He said:

This isn't the first time someone has named the McLaren duo one of the strongest. At the same time, Marko likes to promote young talent, and the Papaya duo is the youngest on the grid.

Norris is 24, and Piastri turned 23 this year on April 6. While both are young, their performance certainly shows huge potential.

In a recent interview, Max Verstappen was asked to bet a dinner on a future World Champion driver, and he named two drivers, one of whom was Norris (the other one was Charles Leclerc).

The 24-year-old McLaren driver has four years more experience than his Australian teammate, so it makes sense that he is slightly outperforming him now. Nevertheless, both are rated very highly amongst F1 teams and seem to have a bright future ahead.

The question that remains is: Why didn't Marko pick Red Bull? He clearly believes Verstappen is the best driver out there at the moment. Perhaps he doesn't have as much trust in Sergio Perez?