Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes Max Verstappen is now the most popular F1 driver in the world.
Verstappen has made a huge impact since entering F1 with Toro Rosso at the age of 17 last season, earning a promotion to Red Bull this year and duly winning his first race with the team. While the Dutchman has come in for criticism for his driving during this season, Marko believes Verstappen has been empowered both by the exuberance of youth and also the reaction from fans.
"Probably we are lacking strong personalities lately," Marko told the official Formula One website. "On top, there are drivers doing their last season, so they are complaining about Max, about safety, about anything.
"With Max, here is someone who is really young with a strong idea of what he wants - and he is not shy of trying to get it, of trying to be successful. And the reaction of the fans plays to his advantage. I would say he is probably now the most popular driver on the grid - worldwide."
And Marko believes the impact being made by Verstappen is nothing new, having seen previous champions unsettled by the arrival of new talent.
"Nothing is justified," Marko said of the recent criticism. "Max is a different calibre. He has the traits of a future world champion and he is just doing what is necessary to get there. It obviously surprises some that this also involves overtaking and defending. If there had been something gravely wrong the stewards would have penalised him.
"It is a bit like when Michael Schumacher came in. I remember a race in Hockenheim when there was nearly a fistfight between him and Ayrton Senna - Senna the top dog at this time and Schumacher the new hopeful…"
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