Instead of Protecting Golden Boy Max Verstappen, Red Bull Once Berated Him for a Foolish Move: “Needs to Control Himself”

“Round the Outside Goes Max Verstappen!” It has been a familiar line on commentary in the last few years. The manner in which Max Verstappen pulls off some amazing overtakes can be jaw-dropping to watch. The bravado of the Dutchman is probably unparalleled when it comes to overtaking action. Though, this aggressive nature often costs him dearly. Especially, Red Bull has suffered and lost some good results in the past due to Max’s audacious moves. Once, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko even berated Verstappen badly for one such incident in 2018.

Marko scolded Max for making a foolish move on Sebastian Vettel at the 2018 Chinese GP. After the race, he was disappointed by the Dutchman’s aggression, and instead of protecting their Golden Boy, he was outspoken about his thoughts.

According to the Spanish outlet MARCA, Helmut told Movistar+, “[Verstappen] needs to control himself a bit. Max is very young and he’s made a mistake and apologized, it’s part of a race.” Verstappen had attempted to dive the inside of Vettel at the end of the long back straight at Turn 14 in Shanghai. This resulted in both drivers simultaneously spinning at the tight hairpin corner.

Marko further mentioned how Max had lost a victory, but still, his time is yet to come. He said, “I told him that his time will come, not to get ahead of himself. I told him that his time will come, not to get ahead of himself.”

Read More: Taskmaster Helmut Marko Places His Bets on Max Verstappen to Get Red Bull Out of a Sticky Situation

Since then, Verstappen has come a long way to win 30+ races to date. The evolution of his race craft and overtaking skills has also been evident in his mature title triumph in 2022. Still, before his double world championships, Max had made some errors of being impatient and costing Red Bull more race wins.

The Hits and Misses of Max Verstappen

The 2019 and 2020 seasons were a building phase for Max Verstappen and Red Bull who brew up a storm to dominate F1. While, Honda sorted out and prepared a better, more efficient, and more powerful engine, Max and RBR steadily looked as a threat to Mercedes’ supremacy on track.

Still, Verstappen had a lot to develop in this period. He pulled off some amazing wins in 2019. Austria was a nail-biting battle against Charles Leclerc. Germany showed an absolute masterclass in the wet by the Dutchman. While Brazil was a pure assertion of his caliber beating Lewis Hamilton to the checkered flag.

Though Max also made some errors at the Mexican GP that year. He had lost his pole position due to some yellow flag infringements. Later on, Verstappen had contact with both the Mercedes drivers in the initial laps of the race. This saw the Red Bull man retire frustratingly, probably giving up a 4th win of the season.

Similarly, in 2020, Verstappen also had a clear chance of winning the Turkish GP. In rainy damp conditions, Max attempted to overtake Sergio Perez. But it was perhaps too soon and at the wrong place as he spun off his car going off the track. The then Racing Point driver went on to finish P2 as Max settled for P6.

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Nevertheless, relative to 2018, the Red Bull prodigy has developed a lot. To win 25 races in the last 2 years is no small feat. Yet, what do you think of Max’s race craft and overtaking skills?