Red Bull Advisor Helmut Marko believes that Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 teammates should focus on maximizing their performance, rather than trying to beat the Dutch.
Four-time world champion Verstappen has earned a “teammate killer” reputation in Formula 1, with several drivers struggling to match his level and ultimately dropped to Red Bull.
This year, Liam Lawson was demoted from the Milton Keynes squad due to lack of results over just two races, but he found his replacement, Yuki Tsunoda, also difficult to do with the RB21.
Red Bull’s advice for Yuki Tsunoda
Marco, who is in charge of the team’s young driver program, has one piece of advice he considers useful for drivers stepping into the second Red Bull seat.
“Everyone who rides with Max has to stop trying to beat him,” he told F1-Insider. “They should make the most of themselves and their team. It’s not possible at the moment to beat Max.”
Tsunoda is currently running seven races without scoring points, leading to the statement that Red Bull is effectively a 1-driver team.
He is signed to the team until the end of 2025, but there are question marks as to whether Tsunoda backer Honda will split up with Red Bull and join forces with rival Aston Martin team under new regulations to keep him next year.
Marco said Red Bull has kept options open and Zonodah’s fate will depend on his performance later in the season.
“Our driver evaluations are traditionally done after summer holidays,” he said. “At this point, everything is open. We are looking at both positive and negative performance.”