Norris as teammate of Verstappen? 'We've had talks'

Helmut Marko brought Max Verstappen to Formula 1 at a young age and sees his pupil developing into a title contender. With George Russell and Lando Norris the new generation has two more great talents and Marko reveals that there have even been talks with Norris.

The talent of Verstappen

On Thursday Verstappen celebrated his 24th birthday and to mark the occasion Marko looks back at the decision to put him in Formula 1 so early. At the time, the Austrian was called crazy by many, but in hindsight he was proven right. Verstappen turns out to be that great talent.

''I am proud that we dared to put Max in Formula 1 at that age. He has never let me doubt that it was the wrong decision. He is always super focused and nothing can distract him from achieving his goal,'' Marko said opposite oe24.at. The Austrian also sees Norris performing well, but Max is still top of his list.

Norris to Red Bull Racing?

''Norris has caught my eye before, but Max is still at the top of my rankings because he is capable of making a fast run straight away, in all conditions. He showed that again in an impressive way in Russia. There he almost won the race if he had gone in one lap earlier.''

As for the other talents, Marko is keeping an eye on them for now. ''Next year we will see how good he really is,'' the Austrian said of Russell. Norris seems to be in a better position with Marko. ''We've had talks with him, but he's tied to McLaren for the long term. We are sticking to our own way'', concludes Red Bull's top man.