Helmut Marko reveals development reason behind Max Verstappen win run in 2022

Helmut Marko has confirmed Red Bull are “on track” with their 2023 preparations, and that a part of the success Max Verstappen enjoyed last season was down to the weight-saving measures the team put in place on the RB18.

Verstappen and Red Bull started the season with two retirements in the first three races while Charles Leclerc opened up a 46-point lead at the top of the World Championship, but he roared back over the course of the year to take an all-time record 15 race victories in 2022 – nine of which coming in the final 11 rounds of the season.

And while the Dutchman earned his second World title with a combination of dominant driving and toiling from Ferrari, the Red Bull motorsport advisor confirmed that the previously overweight RB18 had weight taken off it to get closer to the 798kg limit, which in turn gave extra performance without the need for upgrades.

“Everything is going well with the preparations [for 2023], everything is on track,” Marko said to F1-Insider.com.

“It was only in the second half of the season that the car was at the weight limit. That was part of the reason why Max made the run after that.”

Red Bull also recently confirmed a power unit manufacturing deal with American giants Ford from when the new engine regulations take effect from the 2026 season.

This will see the reigning Drivers’ and Constructors’ champions make their own power units in Milton Keynes in partnership with Ford, in turn becoming a ‘factory’ team in the process by supplying themselves and sister team AlphaTauri.

This move holds a personal sentiment for Marko, though he could not resist a dig at previous prospective partners, Porsche, in the process.

“It’s a good deal with Ford. I was in Detroit for it, the talks were good and harmonious right from the start,” he said.

“We came to a conclusion pretty quickly. From 2026, the engine will be called Red Bull Ford. For me, this closes a circle.

“In 1971, I raced the legendary Ford Capri RS touring car. It was extremely fast, but hard to tame, with a tail that was constantly breaking away. But you could outrun any Porsche with it.”

PlanetF1.com recommends

Lando Norris not following Max Verstappen’s lead with early F1 retirement talk
AlphaTauri ‘wish they didn’t have’ extra R&D time but will view it as a ‘useful attribute’
Red Bull: No reason to think Mercedes won’t be right there this season

For the new year ahead, Verstappen heads into it having moved into the top six of all-time Formula 1 race victories and now with two titles under his belt, already securing a long-lasting legacy in the sport aged only 25.

With the sense of freedom he has behind the wheel, he said recently that the success he has enjoyed in the sport has brought him an added sense of perspective that allows him to just shut out the noise around Formula 1.

“Well, I think I just enjoy what I’m doing,” Verstappen told media including PlanetF1.com at Red Bull’s car launch.

“After the years of Formula 1, I think you know pretty well what you have to do to be on top of your game and a lot on your experience. So in that sense, nothing really can get to you anymore and every year you just try to do the best you can.

“But I also know in Formula 1 you’re a lot dependent on the material around you, so it’s always a bit of a guess. You know when you start the season, you can be as fit as you can be and well prepared, but if you don’t have the car, you’re not going to win the championship. So yeah, that’s I think always been the special part about Formula 1 as well.”