Max Verstappen came up short in his bid to secure a fifth Formula 1 world title in Abu Dhabi, falling just two points behind Lando Norris, the closest margin ever under the current scoring system.
That leaves Verstappen level with Sebastian Vettel at four championships apiece, with all eight titles coming under Red Bull’s banner.
While Vettel made 113 starts for the team, Verstappen has already reached 210 appearances and is set to double that mark early in the 2026 season.
Verstappen’s win was his 71st for Red Bull. Only Lewis Hamilton (84 with Mercedes) and Michael Schumacher (72 with Ferrari) have won more races with a single team.
Helmut Marko explains key difference between Verstappen and Vettel
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko gave his take on the contrast between Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in a recent chat with F1-Insider. Marko has played a key role in both of their careers, helping bring each into the Red Bull system.
Marko pointed out that Vettel was always very detail-focused, whereas Verstappen’s game is built around raw ability. He said Vettel relied more on preparation and precision, while Verstappen doesn’t need to spend as much time fine-tuning because he has such natural talent behind the wheel.
“Both are exceptional drivers. Both are personalities, but they have different interests,” said Marko.
“Sebastian was very technically minded with his engineer. He studied the data to the last detail and analytically extracted every last bit of performance from the car.
“Max is more of a natural driver. In the early years, he just put his foot down and went full throttle.
“Max doesn’t need a warm-up phase. You can see that when it rains somewhere. Driving out, he’s one, two, three seconds faster than the rest for the first two laps until the others adapt.”
Marko also described Vettel as “the more intellectual one,” saying he would work closely with engineers to get everything exactly right before making his move – even if Verstappen has already developed further in some ways by age 28 than where Vettel was at a similar point in his own career.
Is Sebastian Vettel next in line for Helmut Marko’s old Red Bull role?
Helmut Marko’s exit from Red Bull has sparked speculation over whether Sebastian Vettel might step into his old position.
Since retiring, Vettel has stayed mostly on the edge of the sport, showing up at races more for charitable causes than anything else.
Despite many seeing him as an ideal mentor for young drivers, Red Bull has no plans to fill Marko’s role directly. Instead, they’re spreading out the responsibilities as part of a wider internal overhaul.
Red Bull sports boss Oliver Mintzlaff is set to take a more active role with the team, while team principal Laurent Mekies will likely see his own influence grow.
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