Helmut Marko on Max Verstappen’s Imola win and why he criticizes Monaco as a race. Helmut Marko praises Verstappen’s flawless performance at Imola.

Red Bull, the crisis-ending victory at Imola
Even if it sounds a bit like a cliché, Max Verstappen’s win at Imola was the proverbial “crisis-ending victory” for Red Bull, a balm for Helmut Marko’s peace of mind. Finally, after some dry spells with technical upgrades—especially after the departure of designer Adrian Newey—the dominant car from just over a year ago is flying again and… has regained its wings, to quote the energy drink’s historic slogan. A decisive triumph backed by performance improvements which, if confirmed on upcoming tracks, could also help “Super Max” regain confidence in the team for years to come.

Helmut Marko comments on Max Verstappen’s win
That’s what the 82-year-old Anglo-Austrian team executive hopes for, who explained in an interview with the newspaper Osterreich that “for the first time after a long time, Max Verstappen didn’t complain about the drivability of the car.” “The strategy, setup, and car management were top-notch, and we were better than McLaren. Now we have to make sure to win the World Championship and then we’ll see what happens. But Max’s exit clause is not tied to winning the title.”

Monaco GP, why Marko thinks it’s a farce
Helmut Marko also denied rumors that Imola was Christian Horner’s last race, his historic rival in the Red Bull garage for team leadership: “Honestly, I don’t know where this nonsense came from, but anyway, everything has changed now. Monte Carlo? Things could go completely differently there; it’s a track with only slow corners, and we should do worse. But it’s true that much depends only on qualifying, just one fast lap. The race is usually a farce; last year Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were sometimes slower than Formula 3 cars.”

The reference is probably to the need to slow down during the race to preserve tires, which all top drivers changed on the first lap under the red flag (a situation that in 2025 won’t happen due to mandatory two pit stops). “I drove here in F3, Formula Vee, and F1… but it was a totally different track then, without barriers. A real challenge,” concluded Helmut Marko.