Helmut Marko dismisses the Ferrari rumor concerning Max Verstappen

According to Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen will not be joining Ferrari next season. The Austrian stated this to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: “It makes no sense to make such speculations.” The famous talent scout clarified his thoughts: “Max has a contract that binds him to Red Bull for several years.” That has the merit of being clear, direct, and precise. The future of the young Dutchman will therefore take place in the other Scuderia.

Such is the nature of what the Anglo-Saxons call the “Silly Season,” sending drivers to every possible team. This rumor is very surprising because the young Toro Rosso driver is only 17 years old. It has only been a year since he signed with Franz Tost’s team: it was during the Belgian Grand Prix last year. And it is hard to imagine such a young and inexperienced driver—despite his great potential—replacing Kimi Räikkönen as early as next season, especially when the Hülkenberg and Bottas rumors seem much more credible.

Dr. Marko did not miss the opportunity to comment on the weekend of his protégé, who was outqualified by Carlos Sainz and forced to retire early. It’s noted that he is somewhat disappointed with his performance. He says about him: “Max was very good on Friday and Saturday morning, but wasn’t as good in qualifying and during the race.” The Austrian attributes Verstappen’s poor qualifying to bad luck due to a technical problem on Saturday. He concludes: “Max has a lot to learn with experience.” It’s as if to excuse his race retirement when he lost control of his car with cold tires after the safety car restart.