Verstappen much calmer: 'He used to shout at the pit box'

Max Verstappen's world championship was not only a dream come true for the Dutchman, but Red Bull Racing's trust and patience were finally rewarded. Helmut Marko has seen his pupil grow enormously.

Less aggressive

It was a huge gamble for Red Bull to let Verstappen race in 2015 (at Toro Rosso). Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, was a familiar name with several titles to his name in the junior classes, but that wasn't the case for Verstappen. He made the switch from Formula 3 straight to F1, but didn't disappoint.

Although Marko never had any doubts about his choice, he does acknowledge that the son of Jos Verstappen still had some things to learn. He contradicts Max by saying he is now driving less aggressively: ''He is a bit less aggressive, yes, and can now look at the bigger picture better'', says the Austrian at Motorsport.com.

Impatience in Verstappen

According to Marko, Verstappen will still go for every gap he finds and will still do everything in his power to win races, but he's become a lot calmer, according to Red Bull's advisor. Verstappen himself always says he gets the most out of it and then knows there's nothing more in it, and Marko agrees.

''A few years ago, when we had a problem in free practice, Max would explode and shout at the pit box. Sometimes he would take that impatience out on the track, for example when a straggler didn't move fast enough. Now Max is much calmer'', concludes the Red Bull Racing chief.