Helmut Marko says Max Verstappen is still quicker than Sergio Perez

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko believes Max Verstappen is not concerned about a Sergio Perez title battle as the Dutch driver is “usually faster”.

Perez has closed to within 15 points of Verstappen at the top of the Drivers’ Championship but Marko reckons the reigning World Champion will not be concerned about the possibility of himself and Perez fighting each other for the title.

While Perez and Verstappen have formed a harmonious relationship during their season-and-a-third together so far, the Mexican driver’s recent upturn in form meant he finished ahead of Verstappen in Monaco and could have done so in Spain too had he not obeyed team instruction.

But Marko reckons over the course of the season, the matter will take care of itself.

“You forget one thing – Verstappen has already missed the finish twice this year,” Marko told Formel1.de ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“Both times he was in second place. If he had managed to collect those 18 points (twice), the distance to Perez would have been clearly greater. It doesn’t change the fact Checo (Perez) is having a great season but still, when it comes to sheer speed, Max is usually the faster of the two.”

Perez recently signed a new deal that will see him stay with the Milton Keynes-based squad until the end of 2024. Given his acquiescence to team instructions in Spain, and his willingness to help Verstappen (think back to his defence against Lewis Hamilton in Turkey or Abu Dhabi in 2021), was the Spanish Grand Prix the race that ensured Red Bull offered him a new deal?

“No, the contract was not drawn up in a day,” Marko said.

“Perez has one of the most involved managers, who also joins the discussion. The new contract also simply resulted from the fact the new car concept means Perez is closer to Verstappen. Sometimes it’s just one or two tenths of a second.

“It is clear that as a team, we also want to win the Constructors’ title. From a financial point of view, most of our…