Formula 1 News: Marko hopes Verstappen rumors ease after Imola

(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko is hoping all the swirling rumors about Max Verstappen’s future at Red Bull Racing soon go away.

Amid rumors linking the quadruple world champion with moves to Mercedes, Aston Martin, and even McLaren, Ferrari or Alpine, Verstappen was stoical in Saudi Arabia.

When asked about Red Bull advisor Marko’s post-Bahrain comment that he is worried Verstappen will leave, the 27-year-old answered: “I don’t know, to be honest.

“Naturally, Bahrain wasn’t a great weekend for us. I think we were all pretty disappointed with that. But I mean, honestly, a lot of people are talking about it, except me.”

He then told lead British commentator David Croft: “I think just focus on commentating, I’ll focus on driving.”

Verstappen didn’t deny, however, that his manager Raymond Vermeulen had a quite tense exchange with Marko immediately after the messy Bahrain GP.

“I think, to my knowledge, they were just having a conversation about everything – which I think is allowed,” Marko told reporters.

“Now, if someone picks up on it, people can always see it in their own way. But I think we were all left frustrated with the result and, of course, the things that went wrong in the race.”

Marko, however, was also recently open about when certain performance-related contract exit clauses might be triggered, admitting it will be around “summer”.

The 81-year-old now tells Kleine Zeitung newspaper: “I’ve said it many times. Max’s primary goal is the world championship. If we give him the car he needs for that, the question of a change won’t even arise.”

Marko is worried, however, because he admits that both Jeddah this weekend and Miami like that “will be really difficult for us”.

The first major car upgrade is believed to be scheduled for Imola – after Jeddah and Miami. “If we want to stay in the title fight, we have to achieve a podium finish in the next three races,” Marko insists.