Helmut Marko reveals how Max Verstappen dominated the Brazilian GP sprint race with ease

The Dutchman sailed to an easy Sprint victory at Interlagos ahead of Lando Norris and Sergio Perez.

Helmut Marko reveals how Max Verstappen dominated the Brazilian GP sprint race with ease

Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)

Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko praised his driver Max Verstappen‘s tire management in the Saturday Sprint at the Interlagos. Marko believes Verstappen’s consistent pace in the middle part of the Sprint race was a major factor in why no other driver could challenge him. The season is 20 rounds in, and there is no other team or driver who found a solution to this Verstappen brilliance.

Verstappen defeated McLaren’s Lando Norris by a 4.2s margin. As the Dutchman led the race in Turn 1, there was no turning back. He was neither passed nor even challenged for his first position. The 24-lap event ended with Verstappen leading all of them. He took the chequered flag ahead of Norris and his teammate Sergio Perez. It looks like the Red Bull will easily score a victory, in the words of Marko.

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Verstappen’s run at the Interlagos sprint was nothing short of extraordinary from start to finish. Winning a 24-lap race with a margin of more than 4 seconds just shows what he’s saving for the Grand Prix. The 80-year-old team advisor is confident about the Grand Prix on Sunday, where Verstappen is already starting in P1. In an interview reported by Racingnews365, Marko said:

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 Already in the first corner Verstappen was ahead. And after that, he managed his tires incredibly well. At no point did he drive faster than he needed to. As soon as Lando got near the DRS gap, Max managed to put half a second on top of it.

Helmut Marko explains Max Verstappen and his engineer’s mid-sprint conversation

Marko, Red Bull Motorsport Advisor, in his after-sprint race interview, explained the conversation between Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase (GP). The exchange was regarding the Dutchman’s pace in the middle part of the race. His pace was being compared to the McLaren behind, driven by Norris.

Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)
There was a discussion about where we would push a bit more. And when we looked at the tires, we decided to bring a little more speed in the fast corners.

According to the Austrian, slow corners were the point where the McLaren was extremely strong, so they chose the fast corners to bridge the gap between them.

The McLarens are set to start Sunday’s Grand Prix in P6 and P10. At the same time, the Red Bull of Verstappen takes the front of the grid. Currently, McLaren’s main target would be the Aston Martins, who are both starting in front of the McLarens and from whom they need to defend their P4 in the Constructors Championship.

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