Marko reveals Verstappen ‘tension’ to achieve record-breaking win

Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Dr Helmut Marko has revealed that there was some tension within the Milton Keynes-based squad to help Max Verstappen achieve 10 race victories in a row.

With his win at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, Verstappen claimed a new F1 record for successive wins, eclipsing the achievement held by Sebastian Vettel, who went on a nine-win streak with Red Bull in 2013.

While Verstappen has consistently stated that he wasn’t focused on making the record his own, Marko has stated that the Dutchman became tense as the winning streak carried on over the last several weeks.

"Max was quite tense anyway," he told ORF.

"For him, the 10th win was something very important and then we also had the crew working with Sebastian before.

"They also wanted to break their record, so there was some tension internally.

“For me, the 100th win [for Red Bull in Canada] was more emotional, but for Max, the 10th is very important.

"If we can win in Singapore, it certainly doesn't look bad for the rest of the season."

Red Bull wasn't worried

Verstappen started the race from second on the grid and followed polesitter Carlos Sainz for several laps, before overtaking the Ferrari driver following a lock up at Turn 1.

Marko asserts that Red Bull wasn’t worried about Sainz’s lead in the early stage of the race as it knew that he was struggling with his tyres.

"We said we didn't have to risk anything," Marko continued.

"This was only a matter of time. From the fourth lap, we saw that Sainz's tyres were already getting worse and he started to slide a bit. He did stabilize, but still it came good.

“As a Ferrari driver in Monza, you really have to give everything you have with defending.

“Still, everything went well and [Sergio] Perez also drove a very good race. Our tyres were in a better condition."