Max Verstappen has opened up about how he decided to take a stand for Helmut Marko after he felt that the latter's position at Red Bull was in danger early in the season. The start of the year was a turbulent one for the team with Christian Horner facing an internal investigation and becoming a target of attack from inside the team as well as media.
It was during this time that Max Verstappen took a public stand in favor of the Austrian, which arguably helped Marko keep his position at Red Bull. In a revealing interview with Telegraaf where he shared some important details, the Dutch driver said that there were moments when he wasn't 100% sure about his future with the team. Looking back at the time when he had to take a stand for Marko, Verstappen said,
"I think I made it clear what I thought about it. I also think it was important that I said that then. And I meant it. It wasn't a bluff. And they know that within the team too. Did I have doubts about my future at Red Bull at that stage? Well, the feeling wasn't quite 100 percent. There was a lot going on. But on the other hand, I don't think that if something goes wrong, you can just say: I'm leaving. That's not how I am."
While the Red Bull team principal was being attacked in the media, with details about the investigation and an alleged inappropriate behavior towards an employee, Horner was being cornered, with Jos Verstappen being a vocal critic. During all of this, details about the investigation were leaked to the media, and internally, Helmut Marko's position was reportedly on the line.
Max Verstappen on his relationship with Lando Norris
Max Verstappen was recently enquired about his relationship with Lando Norris as the season came to an end. The two drivers have been friends off the track and more often than not took the same jet to come to the track. There was, however, some friction between the two as the 2024 F1 season saw them battle it out for the title.
When questioned on the Racing Bull Podcast about how things were with Norris right now, Verstappen said that things had been blown out of proportion in the media and they were on very good terms personally.
"People always make it really a lot worse on social media. There are a lot of idiots on that platform who always have something to say, something to complain about. There are a lot of positive people, but also some proper idiots. I think it's better just to ignore all of that."
Max Verstappen is now a 4x world champion and in 2025, he would be trying to equal Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher's record of winning 5 consecutive titles.