Max Verstappen feels he would have confirmed his status as a four-time World Champion sooner in the McLaren or Ferrari, a claim which Helmut Marko will not argue. Verstappen went into the Las Vegas Grand Prix in a commanding position to seal his fourth successive crown and did exactly that, officially ending the, by that stage, faint title hopes of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Verstappen and Red Bull began F1 2024 in a dominant fashion reminiscent of their record-breaking 2023 campaign, but the emergence of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes as race-winning outfits brought an end to that rampant form, with Verstappen expertly navigating his way to the title despite being restricted to just one win in his last 12 grands prix.
And after securing his fourth title on the trot, Verstappen was asked whether he could have pulled off that achievement in the McLaren MCL38, Ferrari SF-24 or Mercedes W15. He replied: “Yes, even earlier..
. So further ahead. [With Ferrari], pretty much the same, I think.
“The Mercedes, no. I think that would have been trickier.” Verstappen’s rather unfiltered comments would later be put to Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko, who was asked by OE24 whether Verstappen is allowed to say such things? “Yes, because he’s certainly right,” was Marko’s reply.
“No other driver than Max would have won the World Championship for us this year. He certainly didn’t have the best car.” 👉 Ranked: Max Verstappen’s four F1 titles from least to most impr.
