Marko plans on applying more pressure on Ferrari: 'Won’t run smoothly'
F1 News
Helmut Marko is keen for Red Bull Racing to keep applying the pressure to Ferrari as the battle for the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship heats up. In Imola at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the first real signs of pressure on Charles Leclerc was visible when he made a mistake in the closing stages of the race.
After a questionable pitstop, Ferrari put Leclerc in a position to chase hard on Sergio Perez. The man from Monaco approached the chicane put spun the car into the wall. Luckily for Leclerc, he could continue with only limited damage on his Ferrari car. But he did lose a significant points haul in front of the home Tifosi. This was the first sign of pressure on Leclerc, whilst Sainz also made mistakes in the Australian Grand Prix as he looked to recover a P9 qualifying result.
Development race
The new rules and regulations in 2022 mean that teams are also in a development race with the rate of improvement so high. Red Bull Racing advisor Dr Marko, who celebrates his 79th birthday today [Wednesday], is keen to keep applying this pressure on and off the race track. Red Bull introduced a new floor in Imola, whilst it seems Ferrari will have to wait until the Spanish Grand Prix for major upgrades.
"Everything worked at Imola and Ferrari makes mistakes under pressure. If we continue to make Ferrari go to the limit, things won’t always run smoothly for them," Marko told Germany's Sport1 TV channel.
In the same conversation, Marko went on to say the Red Bull upgrades worked as they had anticipated. He reports the car had better balance which in turn improved tyre management during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and allowed Verstappen to get the maxmimum potential out of the car.