Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Helmut Marko has outlined the extreme training regime that shaped Max Verstappen during his formative years, emphasising the decisive role played by his father, Jos Verstappen, in developing a four-time Formula 1 world champion.
Marko explained that Verstappen’s early career was defined by a strict, results-driven philosophy, centred on the expectation of always being the fastest. According to him, this mindset was deeply instilled by his father throughout his karting and junior formula progression.
“You always have to be the first, the best—those words from his father were fully absorbed by Max,” Marko told Die Zeit.
He described training conditions that often pushed physical and mental limits, including extended karting sessions regardless of weather or temperature. One example highlighted sessions near Milan, towards Lake Garda, where Verstappen was required to continue driving even in cold and wet conditions.
“He had to drive until his fingers were blue. Whether it was 10 degrees or raining didn’t matter,” Marko said.
From a performance standpoint, Marko believes those methods created a lasting competitive advantage, particularly in challenging conditions. He pointed to Verstappen’s ability to immediately outperform rivals in wet weather as a direct outcome of that early preparation.
“When Max goes out in bad weather, he is instantly two seconds faster than the others.”
However, Marko acknowledged that such an approach carries significant psychological demands and would not be sustainable for most young drivers.
“Yes, it worked—but not every boy would have survived that mentally,” he admitted.
In a broader comparison, Marko linked Verstappen’s mentality to that of Sebastian Vettel, another driver who impressed him early in his career. Both, he noted, shared an exceptional level of determination and internal standards.
“Vettel had just won 18 out of 20 Formula BMW races and was still unhappy he hadn’t won the other two. That level of drive stayed with me,” Marko recalled.
He added that Verstappen demonstrated unusual maturity even as a teenager, combining technical awareness with a clear long-term objective.
“Verstappen gave the impression that in a 15-year-old body was the mind of a 25-year-old. He had a clear goal, shaped in part by the demanding and highly effective training from his father.”
This insight underlines that Verstappen’s success is not solely rooted in natural talent, but also in a structured and highly intensive development process. While the methods may be considered extreme, Marko’s assessment suggests they were instrumental in forming one of the most dominant drivers of the modern Formula 1 era.
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