Marko had never seen Verstappen like this: 'That was because of that'
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Max Verstappen was by far the best in Qatar, but in the end, the lead over Oscar Piastri at the fall of the chequered flag was just five seconds. That was a margin that rarely appeared on the board this season. But according to Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing's external advisor, Verstappen was more dominant than the results might suggest.
"I believe Max controlled sovereignly," Marko told Sky Sports. "You could see at the end, the way he set his lap times, how many reserves were left. And in terms of tyres, we had it right. We made sure we didn't have to put a lot of strain on our tyres."
Marko saw a very sweaty Verstappen
Still, it certainly wasn't easy for Verstappen, especially because of the conditions. It was bloody hot in Qatar. "I have actually never seen Max so sweaty [as after the race]. It was because of that humidity. You couldn't get any fresh air into the car at all," Marko reported.
According to Marko, Verstappen was never in danger or had to fear an undercut. He called his pupil's performance confident. You might expect that from a driver who captured his third world title on Saturday. There was a brief celebration after the sprint race. A more elaborate party is not in the cards tonight. "It's boring, but the flight goes at 1am tonight. So there is little time left," Marko said.
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