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marko considers leclerc for gp austria

Marko takes Leclerc into account: 'Then it won't be a great race for Max'

21 June 2023 at 11:11
Last update 21 June 2023 at 11:52
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  • Kada Sarkozi
  • Editor

Helmut Marko has broken the magic barrier of 100 wins in Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing, but they remain hungry for more. The next win must be achieved at home, at the Austrian Grand Prix. But, Marko warns: that is not a done deal.

The story is familiar: in qualifying, teams like Aston Martin, Ferrari and, to a slightly lesser extent, Mercedes can still keep up to some extent, but on Sundays there is no measure of Red Bull. In the Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstapppen had a 10-second lead over Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin. Never before this season (excluding extremely late safety cars) had the gap been so small.

Watch out for Ferrari

It was not Alonso's pace, but the speed of the two Ferraris that worried Marko most. On mediums and hard tyres, the SF23 would have been faster than the RB19. Heading into the weekend at the Red Bull Ring, the 80-year-old consultant is therefore seriously reckoning with opposition from the Italian side.

After all, can Verstappen take care of victory number 101 immediately after the 100th win? "Just have to wait and see. What went a bit wrong in Montreal: Ferrari had the fastest car. The Red Bull Ring suits them well. If Leclerc comes from the first or second row of the grid, it won't be a great race for Max," said Marko, who also saw Verstappen only three and five hundredths ahead of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz respectively in qualifying last year.

Perez not in best form

Perez will be hoping for a better weekend in Austria. The Mexican was several tenths per lap slower last weekend in the same car as Verstappen. Marko knows why at OE24: "Because Max is Max. He is in the best car, but even in that car only Alonso and Hamilton could keep up with him. Those three are just the strongest and Max stands out in between."