Max Verstappen compared to a four-legged rodent in intriguing compliment from Red Bull's Helmut Marko

Red Bull taskmaster Helmut Marko came up with an intriguing analogy this week to describe Max Verstappen after the star driver delivered one of the best drives of the season at COTA. Verstappen claimed the Sprint win, took P3 in the race, and amassed 23 points to make the most out of the race weekend. Looking at all that the driver accumulated this weekend, Marko likened him to a "squirrel."

While the Dutchman did not win the 2024 United States Grand Prix, he made sure to claim as many points as he could. Verstappen took home a total of 23 points at Austin, with eight from his Sprint win, and 15 for finishing third in the main race. This was the third-highest tally this weekend behind the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc, who took 30 points, and Carlos Sainz, with 25 points.

Speaking of Verstappen's ability to gather points, Marko said (via The Dutch Telegraph),

"Max is a bit like a squirrel. They pick up every nut they see lying around. When it comes to world championship points, Max has the same philosophy."

Verstappen managed to collect all these points without having the best car all weekend long. His RB20 was reportedly inferior to the Ferraris and also to Norris' McLaren during the last stint. But the Dutch driver was able to swim against the tide and pick up points.

In doing so, the three-time world champion also extended his championship gap over Lando Norris, who could only manage 18 points. He now has a 57-point cushion over Norris, with five races and two Sprints to go in the season.

Notably, Red Bull informed the media following the US GP that Verstappen suffered from acute under-steer through the 56-lap race. Despite the issues, he was able to finish the United States race weekend on a high.

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Christian Horner explains Max Verstappen's COTA issues

Max Verstappen at the F1 US Grand Prix. Source: Getty Images

Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, said that Max Verstappen suffered from a chronic under-steer during the race in Austin, which resulted in a significant degradation of the front tire.

Verstappen and the entire Red Bull garage looked worried about the situation during the race, but the #1 driver brought the car home with 15 important points both for him and the team.

Speaking after the race, Horner said,

"I think we seem to engineer into the car a bit more under-steer today. And that then sort of killed the front tyres and compared to yesterday where we didn’t have any under-steer, the car was very quick.

"That was relative to the under-steer he had in the car. So, it was, you know, really about how much front wing to put into the car, you know, for the hard tire.”

Max Verstappen currently has 354 points as he leads the world championship. Lando Norris is in P2 with 297 points, and Charles Leclerc is third with 275 points.