Exclusive
Bad-tempered Marko is telling: Red Bull not progressing at the moment
- Nicole Mulder
Dissatisfaction could be seen on Helmut Marko's face after the first two free practice sessions at Spa-Francorchamps. Chances for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to earn victory at Spa? The Red Bull Racing advisor has a hard time imagining that.
Marko in bad mood after Friday at Spa
Whereas Marko normally speaks calmly to the press, he was not in the mood on Friday afternoon. Immediately after the second free practice session, he leaves for the Energy Station, Red Bull's hospitality. The look on the 81-year-old Austrian's face gives it away: instead of moving forward, his team took a clear step backwards between the first and second free practice sessions.
While Verstappen was still dominant in FP1, FP2 painted a completely different picture. Suddenly, the Dutchman was once again chasing the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Whereas Verstappen's reaction was still fairly level-headed and simply stated that some improvements need to be made, Marko sounds less positive.
What both Red Bull men agree on is that somewhere between the first and second free practice sessions a wrong path was taken. So the Austrian Formula 1 team had work to do ahead of Saturday. To what extent it succeeds will be seen in FP3 and qualifying.
Marko on gap between Verstappen and Perez
"We changed the setup from the morning. I believe the setup from the morning was better," Marko stated exclusively to GPblog as he rushed to Red Bull's headquarters in the paddock. "It's tough. It will be hard." Despite the strong first practice, the man from Graz does not see the Dutchman just fighting for victory, even if he manages to take pole - and thus start 11th in the race.
Again, in practice, the gap between Verstappen and Sergio Perez was quite large. However, Marko can explain that difference. "They had different setups, so it's difficult to combine or to compare at the moment," he said.
Despite his concerns, Marko still sees a bright spot. He hopes the team can make some successful adjustments towards Saturday. In that case, he does believe that Red Bull can take the fight to McLaren: "It's just, to find the right balance in the car, we are the only ones who can go with McLaren. So it will be a close fight, which is okay," Marko concluded.