Helmut Marko compares Max Verstappen to Ayrton Senna
Helmut Marko is full of praise for Max Verstappen, future Toro Rosso driver. The Austrian even believes that the young Dutchman can be compared to one of F1's legends, Ayrton Senna.
Helmut Marko, the head of Red Bull’s young driver development program, believes that Max Verstappen – who will start at Toro Rosso in 2015 – is of the caliber of the greatest.
Asked on the official F1 website which other driver the Dutchman could be compared to, he replied: Probably Ayrton Senna. He is an exceptional talent which only comes along once in several decades. You should not look at his age. He has spoken with people who are experts in youth development and they all say that in terms of mental age he is more like 22 than 16.
Even though Verstappen is young and has little experience in single-seaters – only one season, Marko believes he has the experience and talent necessary to perform well in Formula 1: « And look at his abilities behind the wheel, he has been racing since he was four years old – professionally. So we expect him to be competitive from the very first race. »
Helmut Marko also denied that Toro Rosso was taking a risk by debuting such a young driver – he will turn 17 on September 30: “We are not playing the lottery – we know what we are doing. And the success [with other drivers] proves that we are right.”
