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Marko on qualification

Marko on Ferrari: 'They have too much tyre wear'

5 March 2023 at 08:32
Last update 5 March 2023 at 10:31
  • GPblog.com

In an interview with Sky Helmut Marko reveals that Ferrari failed in many areas during qualifying. For instance, he is convinced that if Leclerc had made another attempt in Q3, he would have been allowed to start on pole position. In addition, Marko noticed a lot of tyre wear on Ferrari's longruns.

The 79-year-old Austrian says that if Leclerc made an extra attempt in Q3, he would definitely have been "a danger to Red Bull". However, Leclerc did not make this extra attempt, and so Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez still grabbed places one and two for Sunday's big race.

Lots of tyre wear at Ferrari

Marko also comments on Ferrari's tyre wear. In doing so, he reports that the Italian team is still struggling too much on the long runs. The qualifying runs, they are still doing well, but in the longruns they still notice that the wear is enormous.

Marko also does not expect any danger from Ferrari during the race. Therefore, based on the longruns, Fernando Alonso would be a big danger for them, as his long distances are significantly better than Ferrari's.

Was Red Bull driving slower on purpose?

There were calls for Red Bull to deliberately drive slower during qualifying, from 'tactical considerations'. However, Marko firmly denies this: "That's nonsense. They were both driving on the limit. After the test, we actually expected it to be easier. But the track changed and we had to adjust a few things to the car."

In an interview with Servus TV, Marko already revealed that he expected a one-two to come on Sunday afternoon.