Verstappen regains motivation: Marko reveals prior interest in GT, now for the F1 title

AUSTIN, Texas – Red Bull Motorsport advisor Helmut Marko believes that Max Verstappen experienced a decrease in his interest in defending his title earlier this year, but claims that the Dutch driver is now fully motivated in the pursuit of his fifth Formula 1 drivers’ championship. Verstappen remains a contender with possibilities for this year’s title, after reducing the distance with the championship leader, Oscar Piastri, to 55 points in Saturday’s sprint race at the United States Grand Prix. In addition, Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday’s race. This solid performance in Austin follows two victories and a second place in the last three races, after the improvements and changes in the configuration that Red Bull implemented in its 2025 single-seater. Marko suggests that Verstappen lost interest in the title fight at the beginning of the year, when the performance was not as expected. However, the four-time champion returned with renewed energy after his victory in a GT3 race at the Nürburgring in September, motivated to fight for the title in F1.

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 added: “But now that the car works and with his success at Nürburgring, I would say that two tenths came from him because he is really motivated, he is enjoying F1. You don’t hear him shouting, he’s smiling, that’s what you need”.

When asked if Verstappen is still in the fight for the title with six races to go, Marko replied: “It’s too early to say, but this weekend looks promising.” Verstappen cut eight points from Piastri’s lead in the championship with his victory in Saturday’s sprint race, before taking 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 said there’s no point in focusing too much on the points gap 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

Verstappen continued: “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 entirely 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.”