F1 News
Marko explains Verstappen's slow start and miscalculation
- GPblog.com
Red Bull Racing looked strong early in the Turkish GP weekend but it slowly fell apart starting with qualifying. Max Verstappen qualified second, meaning he started on the left side of the grid, which is what hindered his start, according to Helmut Marko.
Wrong side of the track
According to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, the poor start for Verstappen had a lot to do with the fact that he had to start on the wrong side of the track. There was much less grip on the left side of the grid. "You could tell from the reactions of the past that Max was angry. He already assumed that he wouldn't get away well," said Marko in conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport.
After the bad start the Dutchman got stuck behind Sebastian Vettel. "You could see how fast we really were when Vettel went into the pits. Then came our pit stop, which unfortunately lasted longer than normal," the 77-year old Austrian continued.
Miscalculation from Verstappen and failed pit stop
After the slower pit stop, Verstappen was behind Sergio Perez. The Dutchman made it very difficult for himself when he tried to overtake and spun off the track. "It was a total miscalculation of Max to get so close to Perez at the fastest point of the track. He drove so close that he lost all downforce," Marko explained.
The front tyres of Verstappen wore out even more quickly due to a wrong action from his pit crew after his spin. "With the new front wing you turn in the opposite direction than before when adjusting the flaps. Instead of giving him more downforce, we gave him less on the right side than on the left."