Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has questioned whether reigning World Champion Max Verstappen does actually care about breaking records, despite the Dutchman having insisted that he doesn’t.
Given that he’s a 43-time race winner at just 25 years old, it would come as no surprise that the two-time World Champion has eclipsed or matched several records at the pinnacle of motorsport.
He most recently became just the fifth driver in Formula 1 to have claimed six consecutive wins, something he accomplished at the British Grand Prix.
Verstappen recently surpassed Ayrton Senna’s F1 career wins at the Austrian Grand Prix, before claiming his 43rd at Silverstone.
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The Red Bull driver now sits fifth in the all-time winners list, eight wins behind four-time World Champion Alain Prost.
Despite having claimed several accolades, he’s insisted several times that records aren’t something he’s “interested in breaking”.
“I’ve never been interested in breaking records because these things only happen if you are lucky enough to be in a good car for a long time. Not everyone has that luxury,” Verstappen said last month.
Marko, however, has questioned Verstappen’s unbothered nature with records.
The 80-year-old revealed that Verstappen is actually very knowledgeable when it comes to the sport’s records, and that he can answer any record-related question “right away”.
“Max always says that he does not care about records, but if you ask him, for example, who has the most poles and how many those are, then he knows it right away,” Marko said.
It’s not just Verstappen whose breaking records recently, as Red Bull have also been at it.
Following Verstappen’s recent British GP win, Red Bull became the first team since McLaren in 1988 to have won 11 races in a row, a streak which is expected to continue.
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Given Red Bull’s dominance and the fact Verstappen has already won eight races this season, the Dutchman is in with a great chance of beating his 15 wins from last year.
Marko would love to see Verstappen win even more races in 2023, but the Austrian has stressed that winning the title is the priority.
“Of course we want to win as many races as possible again this year, but first let’s secure the Championship. That is the most important thing.”