Helmut Marko: McLaren Can Challenge Max Verstappen in the Quest for His 4th World Championship

“Will Max Verstappen take home his 4th World Championship in 2024?” This is the question that is running through everyone’s mind. Be a Red Bull fan or not, it is clear that Verstappen has been nearly unbeatable in 2024, and it is likely that he will do it again. But amidst everything going down with the Christian Horner case, will the team be able to win again?

In an attempt to fetch some information on the Christian Horner case, oe24 approached Helmut Marko on his way to a team presentation in Silverstone. Marko spared some time and answered some crucial questions asked, which brought to light a team that Red Bull has on their radar.

Helmut Marko is wary of McLaren

While interviewing the director of the Red Bull F1 team, oe24 asked, “Mr. Marko, how much does the Horner case affect the preparation for the tests and the start in Bahrain?” Helmut avoided the discussion by saying, “I can’t tell you that or anything else on this topic. As long as the investigation is ongoing or there is no result, you will not hear anything from me. This is an ongoing process. I hope that we can quickly get our turbulence under control. Luckily our car is ready and we are well prepared.”

After this explanation, the next question revealed the team that has been on Helmut Marko’s radar. When oe24 stated, “It is said that Max Verstappen could easily become world champion with last year’s car …” Marko replied “That’s nonsense. Last year, for example, McLaren came close to us on certain tracks, but they weren’t consistent enough.” Considering the pace McLaren has been picking up in recent years, Marko expects the young papaya drivers to be a team that might halter Verstappen’s 4th World Champion if the Woking outfit can find consistency.

Verstappen dominated the charts by scoring 19 wins and 21 podiums with just one race where he didn’t get a podium. Lando Norris on the other hand, managed to make 7 appearance on the podium and their momentum only started picking up mid-season. Taking that into consideration, Helmut is keeping an eye out for Papaya while entering the 2024 season.

Toto Wolff’s attempts to sign Max Verstappen

The conversation later moved on to a question about Verstappen’s reaction to Hamilton’s switch. To this, Marko told oe24 that Verstappen was just amused to hear about the news. The interviewer then mentioned Toto Wolff’s plans to be able to bring Verstappen into the Silver Arrows. Marko was unphased by the question and he was direct about that being Wolff’s job: to be able to get the best drivers into their cars.

oe24 then asked Marko if Red Bull is worried that Max might succumb to Mercedes’ offers, but the 80-year-old denied the possibility by saying “No, he has a good memory.” This refers to the face-off that took place at Silverstone and Verstappen was left hanging for an apology from Mercedes’ side. Marko also mentioned the “turmoil” that took place at the finale in Abu Dhabi. He explained that the rivalry runs deep and Verstappen would not join the Silver Arrows.

Read More – Lewis Hamilton Hailed as F1’s “Only Superstar” Despite Max Verstappen’s Record Laden 2023

The interviewer mentioned that Wolff had stated that he was so close to Hamilton that not even a piece of paper could fit between the two. Helmut took the world by storm with his cheeky reply saying, “…but a Ferrari contract would.”

That being said, do you think 2024 will come with Max Verstappen dominating the tracks again or does McLaren have a shot at the world championship? Let us know your thoughts on this, in the comments below.

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