Red Bull’s Dr. Helmut Marko confesses he may have jumped the gun with his safety concerns for Max Verstappen at the Mexican GP, following the firestorm of boos and whistles after Austin. The team had taken extra precautions, employing two hefty bodyguards to follow the triple world champion’s every move during his teammate Sergio Perez’s home race.
But in a turn of events, the Mexican GP proved to be serene – at least for Verstappen. “They were very fair,” Marko, aged 80, acknowledges to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. He notes the stark contrast from a week earlier in Austin, admitting, “Max was not even booed.”
Just outside the lengthy arm’s reach of his personal security, though, the atmosphere in Mexico was ablaze – and so Verstappen remained vigilant, choosing to stay in his hotel when not at the circuit, as confirmed by Marko. The 80-year-old Austrian himself, however, didn’t alter his routine, unfazed by the prior uproar caused by his mislabeling of Perez’s heritage as “South American” earlier in 2023. “It didn’t really interest me,” Marko declares, speaking about the impact on his own actions in Mexico. “I went into town and spent a few days alone elsewhere in Mexico earlier in the weekend. We really didn’t have any problems at all.”
In fact, he says the Mexican public was actually warm and welcoming, seeking photos and extending greetings of “Welcome to Mexico”. “Due to the whole atmosphere earlier in the week, I had no idea if Max would have a tough time or not, but it turned out to not be the case,” Marko reflects.
The GP weekend, however, was not without violent incident. A police shooting just outside the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit gates resulted in a fatality and several injuries following a car chase. And a fight broke out in the stands, where a Perez-clad supporter was seen attacking fans sporting Ferrari merchandise after Perez’s dramatic turn 1 collision with Charles Leclerc. The circuit spokeswoman reported that the aggressive fan was promptly removed and banned for life, emphasising, “We dealt with the situation immediately and strongly condemn any form of violence, as it has no place on the track, in the stands or in motorsport.”
On a lighter note, Marko reveals a playful wager he placed with Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, just before the race, betting that Verstappen would claim the lead at the first corner from his P3 start position behind the Ferraris. With a twinkle in his eye, he confesses, “I don’t bet with Max anymore. But I bet his engineer that he (Max) would be first at the first corner. And I won.”
