Max Verstappen could have partnered with an unexpected team-mate at Red Bull.

F1 Grand Prix Of Hungary

Helmut Marko has revealed that Nico Hulkenberg was almost selected to become Max Verstappen’s team-mate for the 2021 season before Sergio Perez got the call-up. Red Bull opted to part ways with Alex Albon at the end of the 2020 campaign, setting up a unique situation in the Milton Keynes squad.

Red Bull have traditionally promoted from within to fill their vacancies, with both Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen graduating through Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls) before winning their combined eight Drivers’ Championship titles. However, after Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon were both dismantled by the Dutchman in the head-to-head battle, Red Bull looked outside of their talent production pipeline for the 2021 campaign. In the end, Perez’s remarkable victory at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix swung the pendulum in his favour, but the outcome could have been very different.

“At that time he [Hulkenberg] was, I think, a co-commentator at Servus TV, so there was already a relationship there, and there were the beginnings of talks, but then Perez won that race in Bahrain, I think, and because of that everything turned in Perez’s direction,” Marko told the F1-Insider podcast.

“I think it would have been a really nice time, because the two get along very well, and yes, Hulkenberg is a safe bank for points, and in our car it would also have been top positions.”

F1 Grand Prix Of Hungary

Marko, who has a significant say in the driver movement within the Red Bull ecosystem, has been criticised in recent years after a number of drivers struggled in Verstappen’s shadow. As well as Gasly and Albon, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have both faltered following promotions from the Faenza-based sister teams.

Then there is the matter of Perez’s contract. The six-time Grand Prix winner was rewarded with a new multi-year deal in the middle of a slump in 2024, only for Red Bull to buy out the remainder of the agreement to sack him at the end of the season.Then there is the matter of Perez’s contract. The six-time Grand Prix winner was rewarded with a new multi-year deal in the middle of a slump in 2024, only for Red Bull to buy out the remainder of the agreement to sack him at the end of the season.

Marko has no regrets, though. “Actually, I stand by the decisions, and one has to bear in mind that over 95 per cent of the drivers who did not remain in our cadre then go on to race in Formula E, race in WEC, race in DTM or elsewhere,” he continued.

“They earn good money – far more than they probably could in a civilian profession – and then they do what they love, namely compete in motorsport. And that was mainly made possible through our involvement. And Formula One is the pinnacle, and it requires not only talent but also special characteristics and a certain strength, both mentally and in overall constitution.”