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Marko defends Perez: 'The worst tyres at the worst time'
Red Bull Racing has every reason to be satisfied with qualifying in Canada, although Sergio Perez's side of the garage will not be in a jubilant mood. Helmut Marko stressed that Perez was once again unlucky, while at the front no one came close to Max Verstappen's pole time.
"Close it was not," reads Marko's first conclusion after qualifying with the German branch of Sky Sports. "We were 1.2 seconds ahead of Hülkenberg. You have to have the right tyres at the right time, but Max showed today that in the rain he is a class better than the rest. It doesn't matter what the conditions were like."
Marko applauds Verstappen and defends Perez
"He doesn't even need a run-up," Marko went on to applaud the Dutchman. "He goes out, and where the others need three laps, he doesn't. Hats off to him for that." Perez, on the other hand, continued his string of disappointing qualifying by being stranded in Q2. Marko takes issue with the Mexican driver, who he says was simply unlucky.
"Perez changed even later than Max and got into heavier rain with slicks," explained the Red Bull advisor. "Then he changed back to intermediates, but nothing worked. He was on the worst tyres at the worst time."
Nico Hulkenberg will start alongside Verstappen from the front row, but Marko is looking mainly at the row behind. "If the order stays the same at the start, we have a small buffer with Hülkenberg. As it looks now, it will then be Alonso again. Mercedes may have been strong in the long run on Friday, but we made changes that had a positive effect on both dry and wet," he continued.
Red Bull has a chance of securing its hundredth win in Canada, something that the Austrian says does add to the challenge. "With the extra pressure to take your hundredth race win, you never know what will happen. But if you go off normal form, we are favourites," Marko concluded.
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