The ongoing rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull has seen its fair share of heated exchanges, but Red Bull’s key advisor, Helmut Marko, seems uninterested in getting involved in the recent spat.
Marko’s comments come in the wake of Max Verstappen’s record-breaking success and Lewis Hamilton’s observations about his competition.
Two years ago, the Red Bull vs. Mercedes battle was at its peak, with a dramatic collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix becoming a defining moment of the season.
Red Bull emerged victorious, but the intensity of the rivalry ebbed as the new ground-effect era began in 2022. However, tensions have flared up once more recently.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Verstappen’s impressive streak of consecutive race victories, nearing his third consecutive Drivers’ Championship win, prompted Hamilton to compare their respective teammates.
Hamilton claimed to have raced against stronger teammates than Verstappen, igniting a media feud during the Italian GP weekend.
Verstappen retaliated by suggesting that Hamilton was “jealous” of his success and criticising Toto Wolff’s comments about the RB19 development.
Christian Horner joined the verbal exchange, asserting that Wolff displayed a “fundamental lack of understanding” about car development.
Wolff, seeking to counter Red Bull’s jabs, referred to Verstappen’s record-breaking run as being good only for “Wikipedia.”
This exchange of words is expected to continue, given the history between the two teams.
However, Helmut Marko remains nonchalant about Mercedes’ comments, asserting that they aren’t “serious” competitors.
“That’s the difference [between Mercedes and us],” Marko stated during the Italian GP weekend.
“We look at our team to get the best performance from our own team, and we don’t worry about Mercedes as long as they are not a serious competitor for us.
“So we just look after our own thing, we do the best we can and we don’t make up all those kind of stories like they do.”
While Mercedes downplays Verstappen’s dominance, Marko took the opportunity to laud his star driver.
“For Max [Verstappen], this winning streak means a lot,” he expressed.
READ: Nico Rosberg makes ‘bit strange’ claim about Charles Leclerc
“For me personally, getting the 100th win as a team was even more special than this, but it’s fantastic for Max.
“He was a bit nervous about getting it here as well.
“I think it was very important for him to break that record, now he’s got it, so I think he’s a bit more relaxed for the next races,” Marko concluded, as Red Bull inches closer to Williams for the position of the fourth most successful team in the history of the sport.