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Perez Ricciardo make Marko a happy man

Perez and Ricciardo please Marko: 'Strong all weekend'

29 October 2023 at 09:02

Qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix was not a great one for Red Bull Racing. Max Verstappen had to beat two Ferraris and will start from third place during the race. Sergio Perez did not get beyond fifth place in his home country, but was within two-tenths of the Dutchman. Helmut Marko is happy with Perez as well as the surprising Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo the surprise of qualifying?

Perhaps the biggest surprise fell outside the top three. Ricciardo recorded the fourth fastest time. Marko also has nothing but good things to say about it. "Incredible. Daniel really pulled out all the stops. A great comeback after his hand injury, and a good recommendation for his future," Marko told the German branch of Sky Sports.

The Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest marked Ricciardo's return to Formula 1 after Nyck de Vries was sent packing. On the weekend of the Dutch Grand Prix, Ricciardo already had to retire as he injured his hand by driving into the wall, keeping two hands on his steering wheel.

Marko praises Perez

Perez may have finished in fifth place qualifying, but he too still gets compliments from Marko. "Checo has been strong all weekend and only 0.2 seconds behind Verstappen is a good performance," the Red Bull advisor continued. "He is also ahead of Hamilton, and that is the main goal, to finish ahead of the Mercedes driver," concluded the 80-year-old Austrian from Graz.