Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 Championship fight essentially became Red Bull vs Mercedes, which in turn was the beginning of the intense rivalry between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner. Since 2021, both team principals have not missed a single chance to slam the other one. However, as Wolff targets Max Verstappen, Helmut Marko’s public admission has put Horner and Co. in Jeopardy. But how?

Ever since Lewis Hamilton announced the Ferrari move, Toto Wolff has been eagerly weighing his options to replace the 7X champ. According to a report, 90% of the employees at Mercedes want Max Verstappen to fill Hamilton’s shoes. On the other hand, Kimi Antonelli is also teased as a possibility if Verstappen and Red Bull don’t part ways. Regardless, the Mercedes CEO is all hands on deck to lure the Dutchman to his team.

Amid all this, Toto Wolff was asked when the fans can expect the team to confirm their second driver alongside George Russell. To which Toto Wolff replied, “We can wait until the last minute. We’ll see what happens with Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Andrea Kimi Antonelli is doing really well in the tests with the Formula 1 car.” By the looks of it, Wolff is waiting for Verstappen to make a move, and if that doesn’t materialize, then Antonelli will be considered.

However, Helmut Marko recently came out and advised that Max Verstappen was the secret to Red Bull’s win in Imola. Red Bull made the mistake of not trying the Hards on Friday, and then, with no data, they struggled with hard tires in the Main race. Yet, Marko thinks it was Verstappen’s exceptional driving that was the secret behind the win. 

According to Speedweek, Helmut Marko said, “This will be tight for us in the upcoming races, and route-specifically, the differences will sometimes accommodate one car, sometimes the other. If we are not optimally positioned, then thank God we still have the Max factor, which also brought us victory in Imola.” It’ll be impossible for Christian Horner to find a driver even close to the caliber of Max Verstappen, who didn’t even flinch in the last 10 laps in Imola, which he himself explained as driving on ice. With the Monaco GP coming up, let’s see what Helmut Marko had to say about that.

Helmut Marko on what to expect from the Monaco GP: “Count on the Max Verstappen Factor in Monte Carlo”

Remember last year’s Monaco GP? Fernando Alonso took the provisional pole, with Max Verstappen going slower in the first two sectors. The Dutchman then channeled his inner Ayrton Senna and set the fastest last sector to snatch the pole away from the Spaniard. This is the Max Verstappen factor. Delivering under huge pressure, with utmost precision and brutality: This is exactly what Helmut Marko is counting on.

Speaking about the 2024 Monaco GP, Helmut Marko said, “Max returns to Monaco as last year’s winner. What can be expected of us in Monaco? It will certainly be even tighter than in the previous year. Leclerc is a force in the qualification in Monaco, and everyone knows. So everything will come down to qualifying in Monaco. And there we saw that the Ferrari fits well on the curbs, and McLaren caught up in slow corners. This will be an exciting three-way fight between Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull Racing. Fortunately, we can also count on the max factor again in Monte Carlo.”

Who do you think will win the Monaco GP? Will it once again be the driver starting from the Pole position? Let s know your take in the comments.