Lewis Hamilton Left Out as Max Verstappen Builds His Ultimate F1 Driver

His choices? For raw one-lap speed in qualifying, he went straight for Charles Leclerc. When it came to racing skills, he leaned heavily on Fernando Alonso, giving the veteran the nod for racecraft, racing intelligence, defense, and even mentality. And for overtaking, Max circled back to Leclerc, who he clearly rates as one of the best wheel-to-wheel fighters on the grid. In short, Verstappen’s dream driver is basically a mix of Leclerc’s speed and aggression with Alonso’s experience and race smarts not a bad combo at all.

Max Verstappen and Redbull Confident After Italian GP Win

Helmut Marko couldn’t hide his delight after watching Max Verstappen storm to victory at Monza, calling it nothing short of a “resurrection” for Red Bull. Verstappen started from pole and absolutely dominated, finishing almost 20 seconds clear of McLaren. The only real hiccup came at Turn 1 when he cut across the chicane and had to give the place back to Lando Norris—though he wasted no time in taking the lead back and never looked threatened again.

For Red Bull, the turnaround has been dramatic. Just two races ago in Hungary, Marko admitted the team was happy to even score a single point. Fast forward to Monza, and Verstappen not only wins but does so in record-breaking fashion, delivering the fastest race in F1 history. A new floor upgrade clearly paid off, and Marko is confident this form can carry forward, with high hopes for fast tracks like Baku and even the elusive Singapore GP.