Verstappen and Hulkenberg to team up? Marko shares his verdict

Hulkenberg returned to F1 as a full-time driver in the 2023 campaign, after he left at the end of the 2019 season. Although the German had multiple impressive performances when being a substitute driver for Racing Point and Aston Martin, he had to wait until he was offered a seat by Haas.

'I have to say he has done very well since his surprising return," Marko said about the current Sauber driver on Sky Sports Germany.

It could have been completely different however, as Marko spoke to the German about a seat at Red Bull Racing, but they ended up choosing Sergio Perez

"Maybe it's just as well that he didn't get the seat next to Max. We were in discussion. Then Perez won the race in Bahrain and that was exactly at the time we wanted to make a decision. That made us choose him," Marko said about that period.

Now, the Austrians are still struggling to find a competitive teammate alongside the Dutchman. Perez could finish on the podium when Red Bull had the upper hand, but was replaced by Liam Lawson ahead of the 2025 campaign. The New Zealander only lasted two weekends, before he was also replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, who is also yet to make a lasting impression.

Bringing the 37-year-old to Red Bull Racing now is not an option. Even if Marko wanted to sign him, he still tells Hulkenberg not to join: "He has a long contract with Audi. I wouldn't give that up."

In an exclusive interview with GPblog last year, Hulkenberg also talked about the possibility of joining Red Bull.