F1, “toxic climate between Verstappen and Sainz”

Marko’s revelation: ‘It was unfortunate for Sainz to have Verstappen as a teammate’

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko in an interview with The Red Bulletin spoke about the less than smooth relationship that Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz had in 2015 on their debut in F1 as teammates at Toro Rosso: “It was unfortunate for Carlos to have Max as a teammate, the atmosphere between the two at Toro Rosso was quite toxic. With the set-up we had at the time, I couldn’t see a way to keep him with us, so he went to Renault, McLaren and then Ferrari.”

“For a long time Sainz lived in the shadow of his father, a two-time world rally champion,” Marko explained. “He was unfairly burdened with the image of being the spoiled son of a racing driver, and he had to constantly struggle to make his way.