Dat Dr Marko een groot bewonderaar is van Max en keihard voor andere coureurs is wel bekend. Toch blijft het leuk om te lezen, wat hij daarover in interviews vertelt, zoals in dit geval aan het magazine Road and Track. De link naar het hele artikel hierna, het stukje over Max specifiek is dit:
R&T: Other Red Bull drivers seem unable to handle the pressure of competing against Verstappen.
HM: “To have Max as a teammate is not a nice part of your career. Max is so special. He was trained in a very tough way by his father, but very successfully. For example, when he was under 10 years old, they were in Italy, and as soon as it started raining, all the other drivers went to the cafeteria for a coffee or a cake. Max had to stay out, sometimes with frozen fingers. That’s why he’s so good in the rain. He can adapt immediately.”
R&T: And teammates see that?
HM: “Yes. They compare their cars with his: “Do I have the same material?” They think, “How can I overcome him?” They can’t, so they try to change the setup on the car or adapt their driving style. Of course you can’t accept that you’re simply not as good as him. At some stage, you have to recognize, bah, there is someone who is special and it’s just not possible to beat him. It’s my job to make them understand that. Is that cruel? I don’t think so.”
Het hele interviews, met de fraaie tekening:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a41285693/helmut-marko/
