Helmut Marko shares ‘incorrect’ Martin Brundle suggestion about Max Verstappen at the Dutch Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen’s homecoming at Zandvoort didn’t go to plan as for the first time since the track’s reintroduction to the calendar, the triple world champion didn’t taste victory on the blustery coastal track.

Instead, he stood alongside Lando Norris on the podium as he secured the second win of his Formula 1 career at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Red Bull would have been alarmed by the gap Norris managed to open up ahead of Max Verstappen once he overtook the 26-year-old before the first round of pit stops.

It was a performance that would have resonated with senior Red Bull staff as Norris’s ability to set the fastest lap of the race as he took the chequered flag suggested that he still had some performance in the tank.

In the Constructors’ Championship, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko would have been glad that Oscar Piastri couldn’t find a way to join Norris on the podium, although he still finished ahead of the uninspiring Sergio Perez.

After the race, Martin Brundle suggested a reason why Verstappen was so far behind Norris at the end of the race.

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However, writing in his column for Speedweek, Marko confirmed that Brundle’s suggestion was incorrect.

Only the final nine races of the season will confirm where Brundle was right or if Marko was bluffing.

Helmut Marko says Martin Brundle was ‘incorrect’ about Max Verstappen’s Dutch Grand Prix performance

After the race at Zandvoort, Brundle suggested that Verstappen wasn’t driving at 100% because he wanted to keep the pressure on Red Bull’s staff.

Marko disputed that claim and explained: “The weather and various accidents reduced the training time, but that wasn’t the reason why things didn’t go as planned in the race.

“We may have made the mistake of Max driving with too much downforce. Sergio started with less wing and was faster in the second stint.

“Of course, he took the place home, his performance was satisfactory, there was no more he could have done.

“Martin Brundle’s assumption that Max was deliberately driving slowly is incorrect, you can’t say that

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“But when he saw that Lando was on the move, he stopped taking risks. The difference to Pérez was simply that he was driving with a different set-up.

“We thought that with more downforce he would slide less. But that made him even more vulnerable at top speed, and tyre wear was still high.”

Marko has named the two drivers he thinks would get ‘near’ Verstappen in the same car

While Marko is concerned that the RB20 may not be fast enough to stop McLaren from winning the Constructors’ Championship, it’s not the only reason why Red Bull are suddenly under pressure.

Perez currently sits 7^th in the Drivers’ Championship as Verstappen has already doubled his points tally this year.

Only George Russell is below him out of the drivers from the top four teams but would be well clear of the Mexican had he not retired from a very strong position at Silverstone and been disqualified after winning the Belgian Grand Prix.

Marko has suggested two drivers on the grid who could get near Verstappen in the same car but unsurprisingly didn’t include Perez in his selection.

Perez has a contract until at least the end of the 2025 season, but his future is far less certain.

Red Bull could reassess whether to retain Perez as soon as the Singapore Grand Prix if it appears that they’re going to miss out on winning the Constructors’ Championship.