Max Verstappen listened to Helmut Marko’s advice after Monaco

Catapulted into the Red Bull seat on the eve of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, Max Verstappen surprised everyone by winning the race at the Barcelona circuit.

But fifteen days later, on the tricky Monaco circuit, the Dutchman went from hero to zero by hitting the rails several times, especially during the race on Sunday.

It took no less for Dr. Helmut Marko, Dietrich Mateschitz’s trusted confidant, to step in and give valuable advice to Verstappen, which he seemingly absorbed: « It’s impressive how a driver can become a hero and fifteen days later come under fire for his mistakes. My mission was to show him how completely unnecessary it was to try and be as fast as he was attempting to be during the race. He did a good job, overtook a good number of cars to reach fifth place, but the leaders were too far ahead. On a track like Monaco, there’s nothing you can do. It made no sense to take all those risks for nothing. I talked a lot with him, and it seems he listened. But I understand that this mistake is an important part of his learning process. »

Advice that Verstappen applied from the Canadian Grand Prix but also during the European Grand Prix, on another urban circuit, that of Baku: « We have a good car, so we don’t need to go beyond the limits because there is always room for improvement. For example, in Q1, there is no need to be at 100% or 99%. Being at 92% is more than enough to pass. For a year and a half, I fought around the Top 10 trying to reach Q3, so I was at 100% from the start of Q1. Now, my overall approach has changed. » the Dutchman stated.

Verstappen asks to be given a little more time to perfect his learning: « We still need to learn. It’s completely different. It takes several weekends to progress in this area. [In Baku] I built my race really differently from Monaco. It seemed to work because I kept improving throughout all the sessions and gained confidence. » he concludes.