Helmut Marko clear Red Bull want Max Verstappen to do what Sebastian Vettel ‘didn’t manage’

Helmut Marko has set Max Verstappen a challenge as the Red Bull driver prepares for what could be the four-time defending Formula 1 champion’s most difficult title fight.

The 27-year-old is facing a possible seven-way battle for glory in the 2025 Formula 1 season with both McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes drivers keen to knock Verstappen off his perch. He will only not face an internal fight for glory among the top four teams in his pursuit of a fifth.

Verstappen will have it all his own way at Red Bull given the arrival of Liam Lawson to be the Dutchman’s latest teammate after replacing Sergio Perez. Having cost the team from Milton Keynes the defence of the constructors’ championship, Red Bull cancelled Perez’s contract.

Helmut Marko wants Max Verstappen to do what Sebastian Vettel could not and win five F1 titles in a row with Red Bull

Despite being the four-time defending champion, Verstappen starts the season facing fierce competition and with Lando Norris the favourite for the 2025 F1 drivers’ title. The McLaren racer came second in 2024 as the Woking crew won their first constructors’ title since 1998.

McLaren’s other driver also has eyes on the trophy with Oscar Piastri convinced he can win the 2025 F1 drivers’ title. Mercedes racer George Russell plus rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will also believe the title is on the table.

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The 63-time Grand Prix winner’s latest title defence also comes amidst ongoing speculation regarding his future with reports that Verstappen is in talks to join Aston Martin. Yet Marko is clear that Red Bull are ‘fully focused’ on his latest title bid and not whether he might leave.

Marko has also set Verstappen a challenge to do what Sebastian Vettel could not and win a fifth Formula 1 drivers’ championship in a row with Red Bull. The German secured the title from 2010-2013 but Hamilton won after the move to 1.6L V6 turbo-hybrid engines in 2014.

“That is all speculation,” Marko told OE24. “We want the fifth world championship title in a row, that is what we are fully focused on. We didn’t manage that with Vettel.”

Helmut Marko is clear that Liam Lawson is Max Verstappen’s No2 driver at Red Bull

What could help Verstappen eclipse Vettel and win five world championships in a row is that Red Bull are clear that Lawson will drive as the Dutchman’s No2. Marko fully expects Lawson to help Verstappen when needed to prevent any rivals from taking points off Red Bull’s No1.

Marko clarified regarding Lawson’s role at Red Bull: “He should be a constant point collector and help Max when necessary, not just try.”

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Verstappen is the only driver among the top four teams who starts the 2025 season with the full support of their teammate in the drivers’ championship. McLaren duo Norris and Piastri, Ferrari racers Hamilton and Leclerc plus Mercedes pair Russell and Antonelli all want to win.

The team game might prove huge if McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all oppose issuing team orders early enough and let their drivers take points off each other. McLaren learned that in 2024 with Piastri overtaking Norris in the Italian Grand Prix and letting Leclerc split the pair.