How Wolff got it wrong and Marko was right about Verstappen

Fast forward to today, the Red Bull driver is now a triple Formula 1 World Champion, his next win in the top flight will be his 50th and, at 26, he is only just getting started. Talk about a missed opportunity for Mercedes.

This is not news of course, Marko has flung jibes at his rival about the fact on more than one occasion, and did so again when asked to comment, by Austrian broadcaster 0e24, on Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell colliding on lap one of the Qatar Grand Prix.

Marko swerved the question, instead flung an 'historic' barb at the Mercedes F1 boss: "Mr Wolff said at the time that the Verstappen's was not recognisable and he took [Esteban] Ocon for the Mercedes driver programme.

"His talent wasn't apparent enough in Formula 3?" mocked Marko, adding more ridicule: "Then I don't know what exactly Toto saw. When I saw Max at the Norisring, it was completely clear to me that he had something special."

Marko recalled the 2014 F3 season, on a challenging day at Norisring: "These were constantly changing conditions. It was raining, drying out - and I think he drove an average of two seconds faster than everyone else. And it was clear then that this was an extraordinary talent.”

Wolff defended himself when asked about the near miss: “I don’t think there was a lot of hype about Max back then because Max and Van Amersfoort didn’t win the championship that year. Esteban Ocon won in a more competitive car."

"So the insiders knew that Max was probably in a worse package and in his first year," admitted Wolff. "And they knew that a very good driver was coming, but it wasn't clear that he was that good at that point. You can only say that when someone grows and matures in Formula 1, they are a real-world champion - an outstanding one.

"Before that we had Lewis and then Michael Schumacher and before that [Ayrton] Senna. Who's next? Was it clear that Max would follow in these footsteps? It wasn’t clear at the time," insisted Wolff.

The architect of Max's rapid rise to F1 was without doubt his father Jos Verstappen. Knowing what he had like only a Dad does, he did the sensible thing when his son turned 16 to meet with Wolff and sound out the interest.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Verstappen senior recollected the meeting with the Merc boss in early 2014: "We went to his house in Vienna and had serious conversations. But I don't think Toto followed him much in karting and really knew how special Max was. Otherwise, he would have signed him without thinking, even if Mercedes didn't have a junior program."

Jos then described the (now historic) meeting with Marko in July of that year: "We went into the Red Bull motorhome and sat down at a table. Helmut said: I only have twenty minutes. Next year I want to see Max in a Toro Rosso in Formula 1!'"

And that's how a F1 legend was born, Red Bull reaping the rewards of shrewd scouting, while Mercedes backed the wrong Young Gun of the time.