Verstappen keeps his word: loyalty to Marko more important than F1 titles

9 March at 10:00

Ludo van Denderen

What seemed completely unthinkable until a few weeks ago came another step closer on Friday night: Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull Racing and - perhaps - moving to big rivals Mercedes. It sounds illogical for Verstappen to trade the best car on the F1 grid for that of the German team. But according to the Verstappens' thinking, it's not strange at all.

The internal turmoil at Red Bull Racing is currently so great that Helmut Marko may have to leave. If that happens, the man instrumental in the Austrian team's success would become the victim of a massive power struggle. If that happens - as the Dutchman has already announced - Max Verstappen will leave the team with which he won three World Championships.

In fact, there is no doubt that Verstappen will also win his fourth drivers' championship with Red Bull in 2024; so good is the driver, so dominant is the Adrian Newey-designed RB20. Virtually the entire F1 paddock assumes Red Bull Racing will be unbeatable before the regulations change in 2026. So, world title number five is up for grabs for Verstappen. And yet, the Dutchman may well choose to start elsewhere next year.

Verstappen is different from others

Almost every sportsman would want to play for the best team in the world. In Formula 1, that is Red Bull. But that is not how Max Verstappen thinks. After winning his first world title in Abu Dhabi in 2021, the Dutchman said he had achieved his ultimate goal. "Everything that follows now is a bonus," he said then. Of course, Verstappen is a winner. He always wants to be the best, preferably with supremacy.

Just not at any price. The Verstappen family cares more about loyalty and honour than trophies. That's how Max and Jos were brought up. For them, Helmut Marko will always be the man who gave Max Verstappen a chance in Formula 1. He allowed Verstappen to make mistakes in his early years but never condemned him. That makes Marko an ally forever, and the Verstappen family won't let him down. Never.

Of course, Verstappen wants the most with Red Bull, with years to come to string together world titles. But then, with the people he wants by his side. If the right feeling is no longer there, if Verstappen is no longer at ease, if he has lost the fun, then it all doesn't have to be. After all, he has already achieved his goal—a Formula 1 world title. The rest, as said, is really a bonus.