The ’20 minute’ conversation that secured Verstappen’s Red Bull future
Max Verstappen is the son of former F1 driver Jos
Helmut Marko needed just “20 minutes” to secure Max Verstappen for Red Bull even though Mercedes’ Toto Wolff was also in talks about signing the driver, Jos Verstappen has recalled.
Verstappen has gone onto win four successive F1 titles with Red Bull from 2021 to 2023, while Wolff admits he “certainly” regrets not signing the teenager when he had the opportunity.
Helmut Marko convinced Max Verstappen to join Red Bull in just 20 minutes
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Racing in the Formula 3 European Championship, Jos Verstappen and Raymond Vermeulen, who remains Max Verstappen’s manager today, were in talks with both Red Bull and Mercedes about the teenager’s future in motor racing.
But while Wolff was loath to break up his line-up of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Red Bull motorsport advisor Marko didn’t hesitate to offer Max a Formula 1 drive.
He made the huge leap from the Formula 3 European Championship to Formula 1 in 2015, with Red Bull in a position to place him with its junior team.
Max Verstappen became the youngest driver to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix when he lined up on the Australian Grand Prix grid at just 17 years and 166 days.
Jos Verstappen recalled how it played out as he spoke with AutoHebdo.
“We already had the same team around us – manager Raymond Vermeulen, who is a good friend of mine,” he said.
“It was him, Max, and me, and that’s still the case today. So we were very well prepared.
“Toto Wolff and Helmut Marko were both in talks with us. They were pushing to sign him. And we did our job – finding the best environment for Max.”
It came down to a 20-minute conversation that Jos Verstappen says was a “typical” Marko conversation.
“I remember it well,” said the former F1 driver. “I was at Hockenheim, and it was a typical conversation with Helmut.
“He came over to our table and said, ‘I only have 20 minutes.’ I told him that was more than enough time to talk.
“His opening line was: ‘I want Max with us in F1 next year’.
“I was very surprised that he said that, so I replied, ‘Okay, Helmut, let’s do it but for two years, not just one’.
“Because Max was so young, I thought he needed a first year to settle in, and that he could then show how good he was in the second year.
“But he adapted so well. He had such a great first year in 2015 that they promoted him to Red Bull as early as the second year. That was a good thing.”
Max Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull at the fifth race of the 2016 F1 season and won on debut, beating Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen to the chequered flag by 0.616s.
Today his tally sits at 71 Grand Prix victories, 131 podiums and four World titles.
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As for Wolff, he was left to regret his decision.
“They came to my office in Brackley and that must have been when Max was in karting or the end of his karting days [in 2013] just before Formula 3 [in 2014],” the Mercedes team boss told ESPN.
“And then we spoke again when Max and Jos visited me in my house in Vienna. We spent a few hours discussing his future.
“Do I regret missing out on Max? Certainly. But it wasn’t an option back in the day.
“We had two drivers that I was extremely happy with, in Nico and Lewis, and when Nico left [at the end of 2016], Valtteri [Bottas] was then the option and Max wasn’t even available.”
Whether Verstappen remains at Red Bull next season is still uncertain, as it is understood the Dutchman has also been speaking with McLaren.
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