BREAKING: Red Bull’s Helmut Marko Urges Verstappen to Trust…read more
Marko Urges Verstappen to Trust Experience Over Flawed Simulator Data
Helmut Marko has encouraged Max Verstappen to rely more on his own driving instincts than on Red Bull’s simulator, which he believes continues to give misleading information.
The Red Bull simulator has been under scrutiny due to repeated discrepancies between its predictions and actual on-track performance. Despite this, Verstappen has consistently delivered impressive results by overcoming setup challenges as he did at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he secured pole position by a razor-thin margin and went on to win the race.
“When the simulator shows fast lap times, we often go backwards in reality,” Marko told Auto, Motor und Sport. “It happened in Monaco two years ago and again in Japan. I told Max to trust his own experience instead.”
Verstappen’s ability to adapt was on full display in Japan, where he wrestled with a difficult car during practice but still managed a brilliant pole lap ahead of Lando Norris, and then took a convincing victory despite not having the fastest car.
Team boss Christian Horner supported Marko’s view, adding: “The best sensor in the car is the driver. Max always manages to help us bring the car into its optimal window.”
As Red Bull faces growing pressure from rivals like McLaren and Ferrari, Verstappen’s ability to rise above technical issues may be critical to their 2025 championship hopes.
