Such is his dominance that Helmut Marko claims that being second to Max Verstappen is like a win.

The Austrian's claim follows Verstappen's eighth successive victory, which sees him head into the summer break with a 125 point lead over his teammate.

The Dutchman - like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso - has finished all 724 laps of the season thus far, and has been on the podium at all 12 races, not forgetting the two Sprint wins.

"Being second behind Max is like a win," Marko tells the F1 Nation podcast. "There won't be any other driver who could stay with him on one level. Maybe Alonso and Hamilton would be nearer, but nobody could beat him at the moment.

"I know how good Max is and that has to be considered," he continued. "He's nursing the tyres and he's still going fast. He can read the race and he's so far ahead with what he's doing he's already past. It's unbelievable capacity in his head.

"It's so unbelievable," he added, "the performance of the whole team, pit stops, strategy, the drivers... and we do some entertainment with the conversations between Max and his engineer..."

Indeed, Marko admits that he regrets the interruption that is the summer break.

"I would like to keep it going, but for the people who are really hard working, like the mechanics, they need to recover," he admitted.

Eight-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton agrees that the Dutchman and his team are in a class of their own, however he took the opportunity to take a vicious dig at Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez.

"At the moment, it's impossible to beat the Red Bull unless they don't finish," he told Belgium's Sporza. "They're eight-tenths to one second faster per lap than everybody else.

"It is what it is," he added, "there's nothing I can do about it.

"Do I want to be as fast as them? Of course. Would I like to have a car that's as fast as them? Of course.

"If was in Sergio's car, Max would not be having the same time he's having now," he smiled. "But it's not the way life is."

Ouch!

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Jean-Pierre, 03/08/2023 19:30

"what?! I beg to differ. How about Lewis, Lando, Alonso. The man is delusional and obviously in love with MV."

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2. Posted by jcr, 03/08/2023 15:42

"Hammis insecurity or jealousy, never seems to amuse me, We can remember when he got Merc to change garage crews, because re reckoned Nico was getting some form of favouritism. He said at the time it is all in the book !! Book ??

"

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3. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 02/08/2023 21:52

"Hamilton’s comment about Perez brings back memories of Senna taunting Prost in 1993 at Donington, with the suggestion that he and Alain should swap cars. "

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4. Posted by Bill Hopgood, 02/08/2023 19:44

"This is Red Bull's and Verstappen's time.
The team, the driver, the car all working together well. Rain or shine.
Even the opposition teams being behind in terms of their car performance doesn't take away how good the top team and driver is.
The second car in the team is still beating the opposition, even when it finishes 20 - 30 seconds behind.
While I would like close racing up the front of the grid, watching brilliance in action is appreciated too.
Glimmers of hope for the fans of other teams and drivers is "best of the rest" or qualifying until Max does that final lap.
Well done to Red Bull and Verstappen for doing such a good job.
"

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5. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 02/08/2023 13:05

"The radio talk from Max reflects how much in control he is, its like he is bored and just wanting something to do, agree with the comments that in the same car there are other drivers that would be closer than Checo is at the moment."

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6. Posted by Max Noble, 02/08/2023 12:54

"Priceless Lewis comment! So sweet. And Marko is spot on. People might be annoyed by his direct approach, but he tends to be brutal and truthful in equal measure. "

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Nobody can beat Max at the moment, says Marko

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