Max Verstappen Praised For His Improvement In 2024 By Red Bull Advisory Helmut Marko
F1Thursday, 30 November 2023 at 06:00
Updated at Saturday, 02 December 2023 at 18:14
Red Bull Racing advisory Helmut Marko praised Max Verstappen after the last race of the 2023 season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.
Max Verstappen finished the 2023 season on a high by extending the record for most Grand Prix wins in a single season to an insane 19 victories.
The Flying Dutchman gave his opponents no chance during the race in Abu Dhabi with another supreme performance as he finished almost 18 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc in second place.
When asked by Sky Sports Germany whether and where the Flying Dutchman improved this year, Red Bull Racing Advisory Helmut Marko responded:
"In all areas. It's in his absolute will to win. He can go to extremes in any situation. As soon as he learns that there might be a penalty for an incident, he increases his lead by 10 seconds."
We have seen it multiple times this season that opponents were seemingly catching up to Verstappen in the lead, but then he just picked up the pace out of nowhere. Marko explained:
"He simply instantly gains a second per lap. And he does that cleanly and with ease. He is decisive in terms of tire management. Max can drive incredibly hard and at the limit without overloading the tires. He almost reads the tires."
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff would agree with this statement from Marko as he himself recently said the Dutchman is the only one who understood how to drive the tires this season.
Marko also mentioned the Abu Dhabi qualification, during which he bet 500 euros ($549) against Christian Horner, saying Verstappen would not achieve the pole position, and he did. On top of everything, Red Bull advisory does not think Verstappen reached his peak yet.
"That was again the case during qualifying in Abu Dhabi - in which he again went a step further than everyone expected. That's why I think we haven't reached our peak yet."
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