The main topic after Formula 1’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was Max Verstappen’s penalty for overtaking Oscar Piastri off the track – with the Dutchman arguing he was pushed off the track and should have been given racing room by the polesitter, so Motorsport.com found Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko in the paddock to discuss the latest developments involving the energy drinks giant’s teams.
After the race, Max Verstappen kept it pretty short when he was asked about the penalty. What’s your take on it?
Helmut Marko: I think it was a racing incident. If you watched F2, the same situation happened three or four times, and only [Luke] Browning got a warning. Nobody got five seconds. Here, it was in the first lap, first corner. For me, it was a racing [incident].
Did the team think about the option to give back the place and fight from there?
Overtaking is nearly impossible; we saw more chances with pitstops and coming in traffic, so we were considering that. For us, it offered more chances if we stayed out.
Do you feel that moment cost Max the race, basically?
Yes.
So he would have won otherwise?
Max had the speed, and the positive thing is, our tires did behave very well, we didn’t have any degradation.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Alex Pantling – Formula 1
Were you surprised by the race pace? Because even in the post-qualifying press conference, Max expected it to be worse than over one lap.
We were surprised, but positively surprised – and it was on both the medium and the hard.
What does it tell you about the overall progress? Is it track-specific because Jeddah suits the RB21 a bit better, or do you feel you’re actually making progress compared to Bahrain?
Compared to Bahrain, we made a big progress, but also this circuit suits us better – faster corners and so on. We are moving forward and getting a car which is more predictable and is also working in a wider range.
So is this upgrade package step one out of three with Miami and Imola, more of those coming?
We will have small steps, and I think by Imola we should be in a position that we also have the speed to beat the McLarens.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Were you surprised by Max’s start?
I was disappointed, not surprised.
I can imagine, but normally, it’s one of Max’s strengths.
The start didn’t work out so well. It was phase two where he was losing out. But again, he braked later then, so he was ahead.
He was really angry. Do you understand?
Yes, of course, because he would have won the race. That’s clear.
What do you make of Yuki Tsunoda and his moment with Pierre Gasly? It seems like a racing incident.
Racing incident. Bad luck. He would have been in the points, but that’s racing.
His weekend overall is quite encouraging, isn’t it? He seems to make at least some steps.
You know, in free practice, when the pressure is not so high, he’s missing two or three tenths. None of the other drivers [were at that level]. In qualifying, he’s a little bit overdriving, but he’s on the way to perform and bring the points we needed.
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
What are the areas that you believe he needs to improve on?
When the pressure is on in qualifying, he has to deliver.
What about Racing Bulls, your second team?
They did well. But you saw also, [Isack] Hadjar was faster, but overtaking was impossible. As long as you’re similar on the tyres, no chance.
Coming back to Red Bull Racing, does this give you hope for Miami, or do you think Miami can be difficult? Usually, it’s quite hot, and we saw in FP3 when it was hot, McLaren was basically in a league of its own.
But the race is also not at lunchtime, so normally the sun goes down. I think we have to see it, and we see some sort of performance. We can also be competitive in Miami.
In this article
Ronald Vording
Formula 1
Max Verstappen
Isack Hadjar
Yuki Tsunoda
Red Bull Racing
Racing Bulls
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Subscribe to news alerts
Leave a Reply