Verstappen’s never-before-seen message about Silverstone 2021 on a helmet gifted to Helmut Marko

The Austrian senior advisor and head of Red Bull’s junior program is well known not only for his straightforward manner but also undeniably for his keen eye in spotting young talents who have gone on to become great champions in Formula 1 over the years.

Two of these are undoubtedly Sebastian Vettel, the first driver to bring the earliest world championship successes to the Milton Keynes team, and Max Verstappen, winner of the last four consecutive world titles and currently fighting for his fifth this year.

In the lobby of the Schlossberghotel, one of the four hotels owned by the Austrian in his hometown of Graz, Marko— as revealed by De Telegraaf— owns two helmets from his drivers that are truly unique collector’s items. The helmets date back to Vettel’s first world championship in 2010 and Verstappen’s in 2021.

On this very helmet, which Verstappen chose to gift to the Red Bull advisor, there is a never-before-seen message written by the Dutchman himself that reads: "Even the crash at Silverstone couldn’t stop us from winning the World Championship!"  

The reference is clearly to the heavy crash Verstappen suffered at the start of the 2021 Silverstone GP during his duel with Lewis Hamilton, where the latter, albeit unintentionally, sent his rival crashing into the barriers at very high speed, putting him at significant risk.