By James Broughton, October 15, 2024
I’ve never been quite sure what role “Mad Dog” Marko plays at Red Bull Racing. Apparently, he acts as a driver talent spotter. But during his time at Red Bull, he’s only managed to discover and promote two world-class drivers: Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. If you ask me, that’s a poor return on investment.
Mad Dog has consistently struggled to find a reliable number two driver. For him, it seems the driver pool is like plain flour—a sieve is needed to find the best, and even then, the finest drivers are hard to come by among the thousands of potential candidates. Either he got lucky with Vettel and Verstappen, or he truly has a knack for finding and nurturing exceptional talent.
As the 2024 F1 season enters its final stages, one question remains: can Lando Norris, in the best car on the grid, overcome the points lead that Verstappen built in the early part of the season? From the first race, it looked like Red Bull would continue on its path to dominating the competition.
Under Pressure
However, since Adrian Newey’s departure, it’s no coincidence that Red Bull’s performance has dipped significantly. Only Verstappen’s sheer determination is keeping Red Bull ahead, helped in part by Lando Norris’ inability to capitalize on Red Bull’s subpar performances.
Norris hasn’t been supported well by his team, which seems to prioritize the Constructors’ Championship and Oscar Piastri over the Drivers’ Championship. On several occasions, Norris has allowed the pressure of chasing Verstappen to overwhelm his natural driving abilities.
And this is what separates race-winning drivers from the very best—the ability to perform under intense pressure. As much as it pains me to say, I agree with Mad Dog that Norris doesn’t yet have the ironclad mentality needed to take on the likes of Verstappen.
In his recent comments about Lando Norris during a media interview, Mad Dog remarked:
“We know that Norris has some mental weaknesses, I’ve read about some of the rituals he needs to do to perform well on race day. He’s the best, he’s the fastest,” [Verstappen], and, above all, he has the mental strength to theoretically fight for the World Championship more than Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.”
Norris has three sprint races and six Grands Prix remaining in his bid to overtake Verstappen and become World Champion for the first time.
