Helmut Marko: “Max Verstappen is a class above everyone, but even the best cannot win without the car”. Helmut Marko praises Max Verstappen’s 2025 season.

Max Verstappen close to the dream

The 2025 World Championship crowned Lando Norris as world champion, but it also further cemented Max Verstappen as the standout talent of today’s Formula 1. The four-time world champion endured a challenging season with an inferior car, and once Red Bull brought stability to the team and provided at least a competitive machine, Max Verstappen achieved a series of victories that ultimately fell just two points short of securing his fifth World Championship.

Marko’s words

Former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko highlighted Max Verstappen’s exceptional season, saying: “Max is a class above all others and has proven it once again. But as I’ve said before, even the best driver cannot become world champion without the right technology,” he told sport.de. “There were several moments when we couldn’t find the right setup. I think of the Hungarian GP, where we completely got it wrong and Max barely managed to finish ninth. I believe that was the decisive and most painful result.” – he pointed out.

Regrets at Red Bull

At Red Bull, there are only regrets, because in Marko’s pragmatic view, history is written by the winners: “Two points are two points. In five years, no one will remember, but everyone will know that Norris became world champion.”

Looking ahead to 2026

While Max Verstappen’s heroic efforts won’t earn him an extra line in the record books for a fifth title, his 2025 performance stands out as arguably more impressive than his dominant 2023 campaign, the truncated rivalry of 2022, or the late-blooming challenge in 2024. As Red Bull moves forward without Helmut Marko at the helm, the Milton Keynes outfit – led by Max Verstappen’s unrelenting drive – will regroup and target a strong comeback in the all-new 2026 Formula 1 regulations era.