Marko: "We may yet be blamed for that'
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- Corwin Kunst
After the crash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, the latter received another five-second time penalty for exceeding the track limits too often. With that in mind, Verstappen would have been better off letting the McLaren driver pass, as he would - presumably - still win. Problem was, however, that the three-time world champion was unaware of the investigation into the 24-year-old Briton, and they regret that a little bit at Red Bull Racing.
This is according to words from Helmut Marko at Austrian television channel ServusTV. "That might still be blamed on us. With hindsight, you can say: OK, let him go. But I think what Max did was even more clearly within the limit than what Lando did."
According to the 81-year-old team advisor, "several factors" cost Red Bull victory today. A poor pit stop and a wrong choice of tyres were among them. "Because things went wrong with the pit stop, Lando was able to come within a second and get DRS. Furthermore: our assumption that the hard tyre would be the better choice in hot weather was not the case," Marko admitted.
Red Bull increases lead
In the final stint, Verstappen only had more of an old set of mediums left, where Norris did appear on track with a completely new set. "That also played a part," Marko said. "But let's look on the bright side. We increased our lead in the championship, both in the constructors' championship and the drivers' championship." The gap with nearest rival Ferrari in the constructors' standings is now 64 points.
Summing up, "This weekend showed that you cannot afford the smallest mistake," the Austrian concluded.