Helmut Marko claims Sergio Perez cost Max Verstappen time during Austin quali, says, ‘Checo got in the way’

The United States Grand Prix weekend is well underway and after Friday’s qualifying session, the Red Bull team adviser, Helmut Marko has made it known that in his opinion, Sergio Perez cost Max Verstappen time during Q3. The Dutchman was blocked by Perez on his first lap of Q3 because of a communication error.

The Red Bull drivers did not have the kind of outing they were hoping for during yesterday’s sessions. Sergio Perez was seen struggling in his RB19 and surprisingly, the same was the case with the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen. The 26-year-old found it difficult to keep his car within track limits during the quali session.

Helmut Marko was asked to talk about his drivers’s P6 and P9 finish after the session, and while talking about the same he shared his views in the interview.

"We knew it was going to be tight [in qualifying but on Max's] first lap in Q3, Checo got in the way. It was a communication error, and on the second run at Turn 1, there was a lock-up and it's tragic when you drop from first to sixth place."

Helmut Marko told racingnews365

The cars in front of Max are all strong opponents and it will be a tough race. Helmut Marko also talked about the bumps and said that it causes Red Bull problems more than it does for the others. Saying that they couldn’t drive at the height they planned. Marko further added:

"But in the long run, we can make up some ground. On Sunday, the temperature should be very high, and tire wear should come into play, which is a strength of ours."

Helmut Marko and co. have got work to do ahead of the main race

While Helmut Marko has blamed a communication error for Max Verstappen’s quali woes, the Red Bull team overall, has got a bit of work on its hands ahead of the upcoming Sprint race and more importantly, for the main Grand Prix on Sunday. The Ferrari’s and McLaren’s have looked very strong in COTA and could pose a huge challenge to Verstappen.

Moreover, the RB19 has so far struggled quite a bit around the bumpy 5.513 km long track and found it difficult to get to grips with it. This has been one of the main reasons why Verstappen was finding it tough to keep his car on track especially while going through Turn19. From the Milton-Keynes-based team’s perspective setup is going to be key if they want to progress well during the 56-lap race.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has looked almost one with his SF-23 so far during the US GP weekend, and considering this, if Max Verstappen is somehow able to make his way up on the grid during the main race, it is not going to be easy for him to get the better of Leclerc. The upcoming US GP is shaping up to be a fascinating watch.

In case you missed it:

• Susie Wolff claims there is ‘no chance of diversity’ if F1 Academy doesn’t work
• Max Verstappen laments silly errors as he misses out on pole position at the US GP, calls it ‘unfortunate’

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