Verstappen Regains Motivation: Marko Reveals Interest in the F1 Title

AUSTIN, Texas – Helmut Marko, advisor to Red Bull Motorsport, has revealed that Max Verstappen, although initially showing some demotivation in the defense of his title at the beginning of the year, has regained his enthusiasm and is fully focused on the pursuit of his fifth Formula 1 drivers’ championship. Verstappen, after reducing the distance with the championship leader, Oscar Piastri, to 55 points after Saturday’s sprint race at the United States Grand Prix, and securing pole position for Sunday’s race, remains a contender in the fight for this year’s title. The impressive performance in Austin comes after two victories and a second place in the last three races, an achievement that coincides with the improvements and adjustments made by Red Bull to its 2025 car, which has unleashed greater performance.

Max, at a time when we were not competitive, I would say he lost a bit of interest. He was more interested in GT racing, so to keep him in a good mood, I would talk to him about Nürburgring and things like that.

Helmut Marko

Marko believes that Verstappen, at the beginning of the season, lost interest in the fight for the title due to performance problems. However, the Red Bull advisor points out that the four-time champion returned with renewed energy to fight for the F1 title after his victory in a GT3 race at Nürburgring in September. “But now that the car is working and with his success at Nürburgring, I would say that two tenths simply came out of him because he is very motivated, he is enjoying F1. You don’t hear him screaming, he’s smiling, so that’s what you need,” Marko added.

When asked if Verstappen is still in the title fight, with six races remaining, Marko replied: “It’s too early to say, but this weekend looks promising.” Verstappen reduced Piastri’s lead in the championship with his victory in Saturday’s sprint race, before securing pole position ahead of Lando Norris for Sunday’s race. When asked if he was starting to believe in his title chances, the defending champion stated that there’s no point in focusing too much on the points difference at this stage.

It’s not about believing in it, I just take it race by race. I just try to do the best I can.

Max Verstappen

“Today, yes, perfect for me to get those points. It brings me a little closer, for sure. Which I think is good for everyone. Maybe not for them, but in general for everyone. But yes, I look at different things. I wasn’t completely happy with the pace in the race, and I know that if we want to win tomorrow, we must improve. And that’s what I’ll focus on,” Verstappen concluded.