"Nobody looks good next to Max Verstappen" - Helmut Marko on Sergio Perez's struggle to match up to his teammate
Red Bull's Dr. Helmut Marko recently spoke about Sergio Perez's situation vis-a-vis his dominating teammate, Max Verstappen. Marko reckons it is hard for the former to compete with Verstappen under current circumstances, and that 'nobody looks good' against the Dutchman.
Marko told Sky Germany:
"We knew he was one of the top drivers. Nobody looks good next to Verstappen and you have to deal with that psychologically when you see that someone is better in every phase than you are."
Marko added that you can compete to win in Formula 1, but not against Max Verstappen. This was perhaps a subtle hint about Sergio Perez's attempt to do exactly that.
Perez finished on P2 in Belgium and was at least one pit stop behind his teammate by the end of the race. Verstappen had notably started the race from P6.
"You compete to win, [but] you can’t do that against Max Verstappen."
Marko had also mentioned earlier that the second-place finish for Perez in Belgium was like a 'victory' and that his teammate's P1 was 'sovereign'.
Both drivers were equal contenders for the world championship at the start of the F1 season, when Perez also led the table briefly. However, he has lost out in the recent races, getting disqualified from Q1 during qualifying sessions multiple times before Belgium.
"There won’t be any other driver who could stay with Max Verstappen" - Red Bull advisor
Dr. Helmut Marko was recently the guest on the F1 Nation podcast, where he had encouraging words for their championship leader. He stated that no driver in the current lineup has the ability to beat Max Verstappen.
Marko believes Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso could challenge Verstappen in the future, but he surprisingly didn't mention the Dutchman's teammate, Sergio Perez.
"There won’t be any other driver who could stay with him on one level. Maybe [Fernando] Alonso and [Lewis] Hamilton would be nearer, but nobody could beat him at the moment."
Marko further explained why Verstappen is so good at racing, stating that he is able to conserve tires and have incredible race pace at the same time.
"I know how good Max is [and] that has to be considered. He’s nursing the tyres and he’s still going fast. He can read the race and he’s so far ahead [with] what he’s doing he’s already past. It’s unbelievable capacity in his head."
Verstappen currently maintains a huge lead in the drivers' rankings as F1 takes a summer break after the Belgian GP.