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Marko waxes lyrical about Verstappen and Perez after qualifying

Marko waxes lyrical about Verstappen AND Perez: 'Totally awesome!'

27 July at 17:09

Helmut Marko is delirious after qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. The Austrian is obviously lyrical about Max Verstappen, but also praises a very strong performance from Sergio Perez.

"Max was so confident in all sessions," Marko said after qualifying in a conversation with the German brank of Sky Sports. "We are extremely happy with this starting grid, because surprisingly the McLaren were not that strong at all in the rain. I think we can already target the podium. We had the right grip in the rain, but I also think we have the top speed to overtake tomorrow (Sunday)."

Marko satisfied with Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez was six-tenths slower than his teammate, but that was enough this time for P3 in qualifying and thus a place on the front row of the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix: "Totally awesome. He was there in all the sessions. I hope this is permanent. He is in front of the two McLarens. If he can also finish in front of them, that would be really good."

 Lando Norris came fifth and Oscar Piastri finished sixth in qualifying. They will, therefore, be behind Perez but ahead of Max Verstappen on the grid. Due to his 10-place grid penalty, Verstappen will start from the 11th starting spot.