F1 News
Marko says drastic decision might be made at 'difficult' Brazilian GP
- Nicole Mulder
Helmut Marko confirms that Red Bull Racing are considering putting a new engine in Max Verstappen's car, that would lead to a grid penalty for the Dutch driver at Interlagos. The top advisor believes that is probably a better option than having to continue with the older and increasingly slower engine.
Marko confirms: 'Possible grid penalty for Verstappen in Brazil'
Red Bull had to change Verstappen's engine for a previous one in Mexico City after FP2, as the Dutch driver had issues. As a result, Verstappen was slower during the rest of the weekend, Marko told Sky Sports DE.
"The engine setting was not optimal and we did not have the full power from the battery. We were generally slow on the straights. We missed three to five km/h. It was a very old engine and the older the engine, the more the power decreases. However, the biggest problem was that we couldn't get the tyres to the right temperature," the Austrian advisor explained.
He then confirmed that the team are indeed thinking about taking a penalty and giving a new engine to Verstappen in Brazil. "That is the consideration. It would mean dropping five places on the grid. That's not as bad as the engine becoming even slower. That will probably be the case in the next races," the advisor continued.
One thing is clear to Marko: Red Bull cannot continue like this, even as he expects a different weekend for his team at Interlagos. "We cannot afford another race like this. It will definitely be difficult. Brazil is coming up, there are slow corners and that is also a weakness of ours. Qatar is probably the place where we have the biggest chance to win," Marko concluded.
This aricle was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi
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