Helmut Marko points to pivotal Sebastian Vettel moment when asked about Max Verstappen’s 2025 F1 championship chances

Red Bull Racing are no strangers to overcoming adversity to win championships in Formula 1.

Sebastian Vettel spent the 2009 F1 season trying to chase down Jenson Button and Brawn GP to win his first title.

It was the first sign in Red Bull’s emerging Formula 1 story that they could win a title, and in 2010, Vettel made history.

He went on to win the first of his four championships that year, defeating the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, before Red Bull’s dominance subsided.

It didn’t take long for Max Verstappen to emulate the German, and he’s now on a quest to go one better than Vettel in 2025.

Like Vettel, the fifth championship is proving far more tricky, as Red Bull have given up their position at the top of the pecking order to McLaren.

Oscar Piastri impressed Verstappen with his performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but he’ll be keen to overturn the 12-point deficit that currently exists in the drivers’ championship sooner rather than later.

Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko has seen both drivers star in F1 over the years, and has now told Verstappen that he needs to take inspiration from one particular Vettel moment if he wants to match Juan Manuel Fangio’s record of becoming a five-time world champion.

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Helmut Marko tells Max Verstappen to take insspiration from 2012 Sebastian Vettel

Marko was interviewed by ORF after the race in Jeddah, and was asked what the chances are of Verstappen being able to overtake the ‘superior’ McLarens this season and explained: “I said if our car is in the right working window, then we are just as fast and then we still have the Max factor.

“But, if that doesn’t work out like in Bahrain, then we will certainly find it more difficult.

“We are working on it, and until then, we have to see which points are available to take with us.”

It was put to Marko that the gap between Piastri and Verstappen is now 12 points, and he continued: “Yes, it’s not that alarming, but of course, it’s not easy.

“I remember with Vettel we were over 40 points behind and we still won the world championship.

“The fighting spirit is alive and we know where the weak points are, and at some point, the technical things will have an effect.”

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How Sebastian Vettel won the 2012 Formula 1 world championship against the odds

Vettel was the reigning champion in 2012 but the grid had converged over the winter break, resulting in seven different drivers winning the first seven Grand Prix.

That included Williams’ latest victory through Pastor Maldonado, but the likes of Button, Alonso and Hamilton all joined Vettel in winning one of the opening races.

With seven races to go, Vettel was 39 points behind Alonso after finishing last at the Italian Grand Prix.

The German then went on a run of four straight victories, giving him a 13-point advantage over the Spaniard with three races remaining, and the gap stayed the same going into the finale in Brazil.

Alonso finished second at Interlagos, three seconds behind Button, while Vettel’s P6 result was enough to earn him the title by just three points.

Verstappen may well face a very similar situation coming up against Norris and Piastri this year.

Red Bull expect the Spanish Grand Prix to be the turning point, as they’ll know if their update packages have delivered the expected results, and a change in the technical directions could negatively impact McLaren.

Until then, Verstappen needs to keep grinding out the strongest results possible to avoid either McLaren driver building up too large an advantage.