“First three sets of tires didn’t work for Max,” Helmut Marko reveals reason behind Max Verstappen’s struggle in Austria
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Max Verstappen
Helmut Marko the Red Bull team adviser has recently stated the reason why his star driver Max Verstappen was not able to get the better of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull has been the team to beat this season and the first two days in Austria also culminated in the same fashion with Verstappen coming out on pole during Friday Qualifying and winning the Sprint race on Saturday.
However, things quickly turned south for the Milton-Keynes-based team as on Sunday, the Dutchman’s pace was nowhere to be seen and was passed very comfortably by the two Ferraris.
Helmut Marko while talking about the 24-year-old struggle on Sunday said, “Our performance at the Red Bull Ring was very strong, but on Sunday the first three sets of tires didn’t work for Max. It was only with the fourth set of tires that he was as fast as on Friday and Saturday.”
The 79-year-old has indicated that Max’s race was compromised because of the tires as they were not able to provide the performance that the team was expecting from them.
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Sergio Perez was out of the race after going into the gravel on lap 1 after making contact with Russell and from then onwards it was up to Max to bring some points for the team.
Max was the third quickest car on the circuit behind the two Ferrari but Carlos Sainz’s DNF meant that the Dutchman was able to move up into second place, it was a fortuitous incident and Red Bull will take that given home much the team was off the pace.
Helmut Marko while stressing about the tire trouble said, “We think the tire problem is related to the track temperature or tire pressure. The temperature on Sunday was the highest of the weekend and the rain during the night may have also played a role.“
The veteran feels after their race was compromised, it was all about damage-limitation for the Red Bull team. After Austria, Max Verstappen is now in catching distance of Charles Leclerc who moved into the second position with 170 points to his name.
If Max wants to maintain a sizeable distance between himself and the Monegasque then Red Bull has got no option but to do a solid job at the next event in Paul Ricard.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)