Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has described Max Verstappen’s relationship with Carlos Sainz while the pair were at Toro Rosso as ‘toxic’. The pair spent just 23 races as a pairing between 2015 and 2016 before the Dutchman made his move to the front of the grid – but they now find themselves locked in battle again for the World Championship.
Marko’s role within the Red Bull set up has been to make the key decisions regarding driver placement for the energy drink’s manufacturer’s two teams. In 2015 he took the major gamble of choosing two young rookie drivers to make up the Toro Rosso line up for the season.
The risk was hugely beneficial in the case of Verstappen with the then 17-year-old excelling across the season with two fourth place finishes in Hungary and the USA being two stand out moments. His form quickly earned him a move to the Red Bull senior team as a replacement for Daniil Kyvat in 2016, becoming the youngest race winner in Formula One history in his first race for the side.
Sainz in contrast took a little bit longer to get properly going and was moved on to Renault before the end of the 2017 season. He has since enjoyed successful stints for the French outfit and McLaren and has now found himself racing for the legendary outfit Ferrari, where he claimed his first ever race win this season at Silverstone.
