McLaren’s decision not to back Norris or Piastri hands Verstappen a strategic boost in the race for the 2025 F1 championship.
Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s advisor, insists that Max Verstappen must win at least five or six Grands Prix this season to hope for a fifth consecutive Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship title.
The Dutchman hopes to match the streak of titles won by Michael Schumacher with Ferrari, from his third title in 2000 to his seventh in 2004.
After seven rounds of the current season, the 27-year-old driver has two victories to his name, which puts him on track to reach the target set by Marko by the end of the 24-race calendar.
However, the 82-year-old is fully aware of the formidable competition faced by the Milton Keynes team and its star driver.
While Verstappen is third in the standings, behind Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, the Austrian emphasized the importance for the four-time Formula 1 World Champion of seeing the two McLaren drivers weaken each other in the title fight.
“Max absolutely needs five or six victories to win the title, and that will be difficult against McLaren, because McLaren has proven that its car works on any circuit, with any type of tire and at any temperature.”
“Everything has to be perfect and work optimally for us to have a chance.”
“But I hope that Lando Norris returns to winning form and takes points from Oscar Piastri. We must take advantage of that.”
Even though he wants Norris to regain his form, Marko made it clear that Red Bull does not care which of the two drivers is faster, as long as they alternate in terms of competitiveness.
“Thanks to Zak Brown who announced that he did not want to choose between his two drivers, so our chance is that the victories we do not take are split between them.”
“We are fighting against both McLarens, so it does not matter who is faster right now. They take turns. In principle, Norris was faster at Imola. That is obviously an advantage for us.”
“For us, it is clear: Max is number one, everything is focused on him, while McLaren has two drivers who are generally just as fast. The more they alternate, the better it is for us.”
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