Helmut Marko labels Max Verstappen’s US GP podium as ‘turning point’ for 2024 championship
Red Bull’s Dr. Helmut Marko asserted that Max Verstappen’s performance in Austin highlighted the RB20’s recent gains.
The US GP was a positive weekend for Red Bull Racing. Max Verstappen took the Sprint victory on Saturday and finished on the podium. However, the Dutch driver did have to put up a fight against Lando Norris. Now, Dr. Helmut Marko has asserted that the Austin race will change the status quo of the title fight.
Verstappen had a lead of 52 points to Norris heading into the US GP. After Lando Norris’ time penalty in the race, the gap now stands at 57 points. Helmut Marko asserted that was a turning point for the championship with just five races to go.
Marko claimed that Red Bull has taken major steps in improving the RB20 in the past few races, the first in Baku and then Singapore. With the US GP race being the latest step up in performance. Although, Helmut Marko admitted that the gains were more in Qualifying compared to race pace.
In Baku we took the first step with the improvement of the car, in Singapore the second and here another one. Certainly in terms of qualifying, although it was a bit less in the race.
The 81-year-old made it clear that Red Bull wants Max Verstappen to win his fourth title in a row, Marko even labeled it as the most important goal for Milton Keynes. The Austrian insisted that Verstappen has shown he is the best who can win more races. However, it is the title that really matters by the end of the season.
The world title is what we want, the most important goal. We have taken a big step towards that here. Max has shown that he is the best. Of course he will want to win more races, but in the end only the title counts.
Certainly, Max Verstappen will be motivated further to fight Norris for the 2024 title after his podium in Austin. Things seem to be going in favor of the Dutch driver. However, fans will need to wait and see how things pan out for the two drivers in the final five races.
Armaan Agarwal is a Formula 1 Sub-editor and Content Manager at Firstsportz. He has written over 2000 articles with hundreds of edited pieces under his belt. Armaan started his journey in the field of Motorsports journalism in 2017 when he created his own blog. He has played a pivotal role in the Motorsports team with his experience and passion. Armaan is known for his in-depth editorials which give readers a new perspective about the sport. He completed his graduation in Mass Communication from St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata and is now pursuing his post-graduation in Broadcast Journalism from the India Today Media Institute.
