‘Wasn’t Max Verstappen’s Talent Visible Enough in F3?”: Helmut Marko Fires Shots at Toto Wolff for Ignoring Golden Opportunity to Sign Red Bull’s Wonderboy

Absolutely no one can raise a finger toward Max Verstappen in the current season. The Dutchman has been in a league of his own and flawless in the current campaign. Verstappen was always destined for greatness and his performance during the junior categories is a testament to that. Although you might still find a few who did not recognize the hidden talents of Verstappen from an early age, like Toto Wolff. The Mercedes boss even revealed this in his conversation about signing Verstappen early on in his career. However, someone who has been following Verstappen from his F3 days, Helmut Marko, did not appreciate Wolff questioning his talent even during the feeder series.

What did Toto Wolff exactly say? He said, “Was it clear that Max would step into these shoes? It wasn’t clear back then.” Now, these comments about Verstappen, who not only won the karting championship but also made his mark in his first season in F3, offended Marko. This is exactly why he has taken a jab at the Mercedes boss reported by Algemeen Dagblad newspaper and quoted by SoyMotor.

Marko stated “Wasn’t his [Max Verstappen’s] talent visible enough in Formula 3? So I don’t know exactly what Toto [Wolff] was looking at. When I saw Max at the Norisring it was already completely clear to me that he had something special. He knows everything.” [Translated via Google]

Read More: Toto Wolff’s “Desperate” Attempt to Poach Red Bull’s Mastermind Trolled by Helmut Marko

This isn’t the first time in the last month Marko took a dig at Mercedes and it certainly won’t be the last. In fact, the Austrian dragged Lewis Hamilton through the mud as well in his response to an accusation toward Red Bull.

Helmut Marko drags Lewis Hamilton and Co. through the mud to defend Max Verstappen

Soon after securing the 100th win for Red Bull, the Austrian advisor was asked if the team is developed around Verstappen. With the Canadian GP win, Verstappen secured his 41st win in the sport. During Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull era, the German champ amassed a total of 38 wins. So these claims irked Marko and he gave a fiery response while dragging the utterly dominant era from Hamilton.

“Mercedes had how many wins with [Lewis] Hamilton?“ asked Marko before bringing Rosberg into the conversation. “[It was] only one year where Nico [Rosberg] was really strong. But, I think Max [Verstappen] is such a strong driver that at least Checo [Perez] survived two years already. You have to see it this way.”

The Austrian never shies away from speaking his mind. However, at the moment Mercedes has become his favorite target. One wonders if this is just the start of the mind games as the Brackley outfit slowly but surely plans to close the gap to Red Bull.

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