Max Verstappen, the reigning F1 World Champion, was able to steal the fastest lap point from his teammate, Sergio Perez, in Jeddah. Moreover, the Dutchman was able to achieve this feat on the final lap of the race. Verstappen went berzerk on the final lap and clocked in some mad sector times that were good enough to secure the fastest lap point.
Helmut Marko, after the race, deemed Max Verstappen’s final lap exploits as uncontrollable. In his opinion, the 25-year-old was on a mission to leave Saudi Arabia as the sole leader in the Drivers Championship. As things stand, Verstappen has racked up 44 points so far in the season, whereas, Sergio Perez is just one point shy of his teammate’s tally.
While Sergio Perez managed to win the Saudi Arabian GP, he was also all set to secure the fastest lap point, until Verstappen decided to step up a gear. On the final lap of the race, he put in an electrifying lap that saw him snatch away the fastest lap point from his teammate. Helmut Marko, while shedding light on it said, “Typical Max on the last lap with the fastest race lap, that was uncontrollable, that’s just Max.“
“Both were constantly asking who had the fastest lap and Max waited until the last lap so Perez couldn’t counter. It means the lead in the world championship for him. We are very satisfied with the race.” Looking at the comments of Helmut Marko, he is just pleased that Red Bull was able to come away with the highest tally of points compared to its rivals.
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Helmut Marko reveals that Max Verstappen faced vibration issues on his RB19 in Jeddah
While Max Verstappen was able to finish the Saudi Arabian GP in P2 after starting from P15, the race did not prove to be smooth sailing for the Dutchman. He was facing vibrational problems on his RB19 during the race and had no option but to manage and deal with it to the best of his ability. Verstappen faced mechanical issues during the qualifying session of the event as well.
Helmut Marko while talking about Verstappen’s issues during the Saudi Arabian GP said, “We already assumed it would be podium [for Max], but it was still a bit of a squeeze because he was suffering from vibrations again.” Marko’s comments prove how much confidence the Milton-Keynes-based team has got in its RB19 this year.
After two races in the 2023 F1 season, many people in the F1 paddock have deemed Red Bull’s car as a rocket ship. Moreover, considering the two Red Bull drivers have managed a 1-2 finish for the team in both races, they are certainly not wrong in their assessment. While the rival teams have managed to come close to Red Bull in qualifying, none have managed to match the race pace of the Austrian team.
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