Former Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has conceded that Max Verstappen was inferior to bitter rival Lewis Hamilton in one key metric during their furious duel for the Formula 1 title in 2021. It was a battle which grew steadily more acrimonious as the season went on and climaxed with the controversial finale in Abu Dhabi which saw Verstappen emerge as the victor.

While that battle was very closely fought over the whole year, their respective fortunes have diverged significantly since. Verstappen and his Red Bull team used it as a springboard from which to win four consecutive drivers' titles, while Hamilton and Mercedes struggled for success and a switch to Ferrari has, so far, not yielded any improvement in his fortunes.

One of Verstappen's closest allies throughout his long stint as a Red Bull driver was Helmut Marko, who served as an adviser to the team for 20 years. He was also something of a 'second father figure' to the Dutch racer and will be missed by Verstappen after his Red Bull departure at the end of 2025.

Asked if he believes Verstappen is the strongest driver that has ever raced in F1, Marko was unwilling to back his man outright but is clear that the 28-year-old is up there with the very best in history. The Austrian said: "It's difficult to say. Different periods, different cars. But he's definitely one of the greatest."

Verstappen's most impressive attribute, as far as Marko is concerned is how he has continued to get better every year. Using the trait he felt Hamilton was better at back in 2021 as an example, the Austrian explained: "He's improving and improving. He's completely focused and now he's [spent] 10 years with us.

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"Nowadays, he doesn't make any mistakes. Lap by lap, he's within one tenth. If they tell him the tyre, let's say, the left one, is overheating, okay, within two laps, he does the same lap time, but the tyre temperature goes down. So he also learned this feeling for the tyres, which was, I would say, in '21, a handicap, because in this area, Hamilton was a bit better than him."

Verstappen is calm and largely affable outside the car but often ruthless behind the wheel, which Marko described with an interesting analogy. He said: "Max is a perfect son-in-law for I think every mother. But, once he is in the car, he's a different person and he doesn't have any compromise.

"Max is absolutely committed. What I don't understand, after winning a Grand Prix, he jumps on his plane and goes in a simulator and makes the E-race... Okay, that's maybe the modern times. But also, like the Nurburgring, with his Ferrari victory, that meant to him so much, and that shows that he's a pure racer. His commitment is absolute."