Helmut Marko assessed Max Verstappen's performance following the first five race weekends of the 2024 season, suggesting he is still getting even better.
Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen has an almost perfect record after the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix. He put his car on the pole in every single Grand Prix qualifying and won four out of five races.
He might have won perhaps all of them, but he had to retire out of the Australian Grand Prix. Concerning Sprint race statistics, the Dutchman has one P4 in Sprint Shootout, but he turned it into a win in the Sprint race.
Looking at these first five race weekends, it seems reasonable to suggest the 26-year-old is on the right course to his fourth consecutive title. Red Bull's motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, agrees, as he wrote in his column for Speedweek.com:
"Max is on a strong course towards successful title defense. He is getting better, even though that was hard to imagine after last season."
In 2023, Verstappen won 19 out of the 22 Grand Prix races. It is already clear he won't win all of the races this year, but he can still exceed his record for the most wins and highest percentage of wins from 2023. Marko continued:
"This is also reflected in how he tunes his car. Even on a sprint format weekend like in Shanghai, we progress step-by-step, in free practice and then directly in the sprint qualifying."
The Dutchman showed his confidence is at an all-time high when he tried to drift his car (a very risky move) on the final lap of the most recent Grand Prix. The 80-year-old Red Bull boss also suggests he is no longer impatient, as he added:
"There's harmony between Max and GP, his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. Max is no longer impatient; he calmly and focusedly pursues two goals: to get the car on pole, but his main focus is on the race."
"This combination, this clarity, coupled with excellent tire management, makes him currently unbeatable."
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