McLaren’s radio message to Lando Norris caused Helmut Marko to laugh at the Las Vegas Grand Prix – The Red Bull advisor praises Verstappen’s show of power
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko had to smile at the Las Vegas Grand Prix over the weekend: for him, McLaren’s radio message to Lando Norris telling him to attack Max Verstappen was the “funniest moment” of the race.
The Dutchman was already leading comfortably at that point and responded to his rival’s announcement with a series of fastest laps.
Verstappen won the night race from second on the grid after putting Norris under pressure in the first corner and forcing him into a mistake. The McLaren driver had gone too wide while defending the inside line and immediately lost a position to George Russell.
The Mercedes driver initially kept Verstappen within striking distance, but came into the pits as early as lap 17. Norris followed five laps later, while Verstappen extended his stint to lap 25. The top three remained unchanged after the stops.
Norris ultimately without a chance
In the second half of the race, Norris found more speed and overtook Russell with 16 laps to go. At that very moment, he received the radio message: “We’re going to get Max.”
Red Bull informed Verstappen of the announcement, and he reacted demonstratively. With several fastest laps, he increased his lead and ultimately won with a 20.7-second gap over Norris.
Marko was suitably impressed. “He was able to keep up with the pace of his pursuers without any problems and save his tires in the process,” the Austrian told Sky Sport Deutschland. He was particularly amused by the McLaren message: “‘Attack Max, overtake him.’ And then he set one fastest lap after another, just to make it clear how things stood.”
According to Marko, Verstappen acted with “ease and confidence” while Norris lost speed towards the end. Later, he spoke of an “incredible Verstappen show.”
Mekies: Verstappen in a class of his own
Team boss Laurent Mekies also praised his driver, saying that Verstappen had even more speed in reserve and immediately implemented every desired pace increase. Despite chaotic practice conditions that made normal preparation impossible, he was “outstanding in all areas” on Sunday.
Thanks to the victory and McLaren’s double disqualification after the race, Verstappen is now 24 points behind championship leader Norris. With two races remaining, Verstappen currently shares second place with Oscar Piastri. Given McLaren’s earlier dominance, Mekies considers this situation remarkable.
Red Bull’s turnaround began in September with the upgrades at Monza. Since then, Verstappen has won four of the last seven races and remains fully in contention for the 2025 title ahead of the final races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
This comes as no surprise to Mekies: “Now that he can compete for victories again, he is delivering one masterpiece after another.” At the same time, Red Bull remains cautious and continues to take a weekend-by-weekend approach, especially as conditions in Qatar are “the complete opposite” of Vegas.