Helmut Marko on Max Verstappen’s childhood training: “Psychologically, most wouldn’t survive it”. Helmut Marko reflects on Max Verstappen’s intense childhood training under his father Jos.

Helmut Marko has recalled the extreme training methods that former Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen imposed on his son Max from his earliest karting days, highlighting the intense discipline that helped shape the four-time world champion.

Always on track, always the best

At just 28 years of age, Max Verstappen already boasts four Formula 1 World Championships, along with numerous records achieved during his relatively short career in the sport.

His journey into the Formula 1 world began at just 17 years old, where he immediately stood out not only for his natural talent but also for his extraordinary mental strength, which allowed him to withstand immense pressure both on and off the track at the highest level of motorsport.

This mental resilience was developed largely thanks to the strict and demanding approach of his father, Jos Verstappen, himself a former Formula 1 driver, who instilled discipline and competitiveness from the very beginning of Max’s karting career.

The training

The relentless and highly structured training method also left a strong impression on Helmut Marko, the founder of the Red Bull Junior Team, who later promoted Verstappen to the Formula 1 programme in Milton Keynes.

“You always have to be first, the best,” those were the words of his father, and the son absorbed them completely,” Marko recalled in an interview with Die Zeit.

“However, the training was extremely exhausting, almost to the limit. For example, near Milan, close to Lake Garda, there are two karting tracks where Max had to drive until his fingers turned blue. It didn’t matter if it was only 10 degrees or if it was raining, none of that mattered. But he still benefited from his father’s strictness. When Max goes out on track in bad weather, he is immediately two seconds faster than everyone else.”

The difference compared to other drivers

Reflecting on other drivers who came through the Red Bull academy, Helmut Marko believes Max Verstappen’s preparation was so extreme that very few young talents would have been able to cope with it psychologically.

“Not all young drivers would have survived something like that psychologically,” he added.

“When Sebastian Vettel sat in front of me, he had just won 18 of 20 Formula BMW races. He was not satisfied with not winning the other two. That unstoppable willpower stayed with me.

Verstappen gave the impression that his 15-year-old body was hosting the mind of a 25-year-old. Max had a very clear goal, which can partly be attributed to the extremely effective and rigorous training given to him by his father.”