Marko makes Norris dig in ‘real champion’ claim

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has fired a dig at Lando Norris by claiming the São Paulo Grand Prix showed who the “real champion is”. 

Norris started on pole but ended the race at a soaked Interlagos in sixth following an unfortunate stroke of luck after pitting moments before a red flag. 

That move dropped McLaren driver Norris to fifth before an error on his part at the first corner relegated him a further position. 

Norris’ F1 drivers’ title hopes are now all but over, as Max Verstappen recovered from 17th on the grid to claim a famous victory. 

Verstappen’s win has extended his lead in the standings over Norris to 62 points, with only 86 available. It means the Dutchman can seal his fourth consecutive title in Las Vegas later this month. 

Verstappen did not make a single mistake and, in Norris’ eyes, could have lapped the entire field. 

Marko reveals bet with Lambiase

Red Bull’s lead driver has come under increased scrutiny of late, however, his sensational victory has etched his name further into F1 history.

“All this nonsense that has been spread and then this,” Marko told De Telegraaf. “Max was flying. 

“He was faultless and we couldn’t say that about Lando Norris. Whether this is a giant step toward the title? No, I think this is the title. Here you could see who the real champion is.”

Marko was confident before the race that Verstappen would at least recover to the podium, resulting in a friendly wager with the 27-year-old’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase.

“With Max’s race engineer I had bet that Max would get on the podium,” Marko revealed. 

“Lambiase didn’t think so. We put $100 on it, but I said only a podium and no victory.

“Max always wants to do better again.”