Marko expects tough battle for Verstappen and Magnussen: 'Tough fighter'

Max Verstappen starts Saturday's sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix in second place. With Kevin Magnussen ahead of him, it seems to be a matter of time before the Dutchman drives in front, but Helmut Marko warns the two-time world champion of the dangers.

Red Bull Racing's Austrian advisor thinks it will be tempting for Verstappen to get past Magnussen as quickly as possible. However, Marko knows the Dane well and therefore knows that the driver will not allow himself to pass easily, which could put Verstappen at risk of damaging his car.

"He is a tough fighter. Even if Max stays a bit longer behind him, it should not be a problem," Marko assessed in conversation with ORF. "Because Max made the mistake, he could have put the car on pole. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Now he has to see how he gets from the back to the front."

Verstappen dissatisfied with current form sprint races

A day earlier, Verstappen revealed that he is not exactly a fan of the current shape of sprint races. Whereas Formula 1 hoped to create more excitement in the race weekend, according to Verstappen, drivers are mainly concerned with keeping their car in one piece for the race.