Verstappen really calmed down? 'You don't know what he was like before'

Max Verstappen is not having the start to the season he would like. While it is true that he won in Saudi Arabia, two retirements in the three races so far mean that he is looking at a considerable gap to Charles Leclerc. In the championship, Sergio Perez is even above the Dutchman for the first time. According to Helmut Marko, the Mexican therefore feels very good in the RB18.

Verstappen calmed down

After eight years of Mercedes' dominance, Verstappen managed to break this last season with his first world title. The big goal had been achieved, something that would have made the Dutchman calmer, according to insiders; Marko also shared that opinion. In an interview with F1 Insider, the Red Bull advisor is reminded of those statements, because according to the interviewer the Dutchman does not seem calmer at all after the setbacks at the beginning of the season.

Marko immediately parries the question sharply. "You don't know how he used to be." The Austrian refers to the hot-tempered character of the Dutchman, which he believes has calmed down even after his failure in Australia, the second of the season. According to Marko, the reigning world champion knows that at least he has a fast car, but that there are still some things that need to be sorted out properly.

Perez less trouble with RB18

This season Perez is much closer to Verstappen, and at Ferrari you see that Leclerc is clearly faster than Carlos Sainz, while last season they were much closer and Sainz was often even faster. According to Marko, the new cars with less downforce suit some drivers better and some less. He is convinced that Sainz will catch up with Leclerc this season.

At Red Bull, Perez is also more comfortable with the RB18 than Verstappen. "Perez is very happy with the setup of the car. Max finds it even more difficult," Marko admits. The Dutchman has not yet found the right balance and therefore does not yet have full confidence in his car. "His aggressive driving style doesn't quite go together with the new cars."