Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko admitted Max Verstappen would not have beaten Lewis Hamilton or both Ferrari drivers two years ago, but “now he has the maturity” to match his speed.

Verstappen won his fourth consecutive championship in 2024, with Red Bull’s dominant start to the season fading away for much of the year before he took a victory in Brazil from 17th on the grid to all but end Lando Norris’ chances of catching him.

Helmut Marko: ‘Nobody else but Max Verstappen would have won this title’

Verstappen went 10 races without a victory in the middle of the season, but scored four crucial podiums within that time and never finished outside the top six as his rivals took points off each other, maintaining his early lead at the top of the Drivers’ standings.

Despite Red Bull not wrestling back an on-track advantage until late in the season, or appearing at the front of the field, Verstappen wrapped up the title with two races to go.

Marko hailed his driver’s performances as a result, adding that his added “maturity” and bringing back the necessary points was a key part of his season.

“Nobody else would have won this World Championship title, which is clearly down to Max and his extraordinary ability,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung.

“Two years ago, it would have been impossible for him to beat Lewis Hamilton or the Ferraris. Now he has the maturity and knows that he also has to drive in position.”

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Verstappen himself has credited his own ability to handle adversity better this season, with Red Bull having endured a mid-season dip in performance relative to their rivals in 2024.

He managed to maintain and even increase his gap at the top of the Drivers’ standings through it all, however, and he credits that to making the most of every weekend where he could, rather than chasing victories that he felt were impossible beforehand.

When asked about his reflections of the season, Verstappen told media including PlanetF1.com in Abu Dhabi: “Of course, I’m proud of winning the championship.

“But besides that, I think how we have worked as a team and how I’ve also kept myself together throughout a tough period in the season where it was easy to be demotivated and give up on a lot of things.

“Actually working harder with the team, trying to find solutions and getting on top of it or at least understanding our trouble and again bounce back and still achieve some great results at the end of the year.

“Plus, I think the race in Brazil. The emotions went from being super upset in the morning, looking like you were going to lose a lot of points in the championship and it actually becoming a proper fight, to then, of course, winning the race from P17. For me, that is definitely a race that I’m very proud of in how we’ve handled everything. I think all those things together.”

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