F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Verstappen 'the most popular driver worldwide' - Marko

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…"

From the cockpit: Felipe Nasr on a frustrating Spa and Monza

Estimated F1 driver salaries for 2016

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Monza

COMMENT: Why Bernie staying could mean more chance of change in F1

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Marko: ‘No chance at all’ for Red Bull in Las Vegas

Helmut Marko believes that Red Bull and Max Verstappen are unlikely to challenge for victory…

1 hour ago

GM revives bid to join F1 with accelerated talks for 2026 entry

Automotive giant General Motors is reportedly back in the game as a potential entrant in…

3 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Thursday's action in pictures

The opening day of running at the Las Vegas GP was a smooth but chilly…

4 hours ago

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

5 hours ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

6 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

8 hours ago