“One more lap and then Perez would have been passed too,” Helmut Marko confident in Red Bull package
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Formula 1 encountered its maiden sprint race weekend at the Imola Grand Prix. The first out of the three sprint race weekends on the 2022 calendar, delivered some great racing action. So far in the weekend the modern Formula 1 cars only had the FP-2 session for the references of the dry tyre compounds. Max Verstappen grabbed the pole position on the Qualifying on Friday and started the sprint on pole. However, the P1 starting position on the grid was not safe as Charles Leclerc started just behind in P2 and his team mate, Sergio Perez in P3.
The sprint race depicted good overtake manoeuvres up and down the grid. The primary fight up ahead between the championship leader, Charles Leclerc and pole sitter, Max Verstappen was the most significant one. The sprint race offered 8 points for the driver finishing 1st down till 1 point for the driver finishing 8th. These points were really important for the Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen as he has a lot of ground to cover on his rival, Charles Leclerc. The Red Bull and Ferrari team are locked in for a season long battle and both pushed flat out.
Max Verstappen’s Overtake on Charles Leclerc dictated by High Tyre Degradation suggests Helmut Marko
Out in Melbourne, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc delivered a grand slam and finished 20 seconds ahead of the Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez. One of they key factors was the tyre degradation rate on the Red Bull car being significantly higher than that of Ferrari. In the sprint race, Charles Leclerc managed to pass the pole sitter, Max Verstappen in the first car. However, was passed by the Dutch driver in the penultimate lap of the sprint race. On this result the Red Bull team advisor, Helmut Marko said “The graining problems that we had in Australia hit Ferrari here”.
Helmut Marko further showed confidence in the Red Bull package this weekend by saying “One more lap and then Perez would have been passed too.” Talking about the possibilities for Sunday Grand Prix, he added “You can only change the wing [in parc ferme conditions], so that doesn’t matter, and we drove behind, which means higher demands [on the car and tyres]. We were fast in the rain and we are fast in the dry.”
We are in store for another Red Bull and Ferrari duel at the Imola Grand Prix in the Ferrari’s home soil. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have managed to keep their noses clean so far delivering exceptional performances and battles on track. However, it remains to be seen if Ferrari have come up with a strategy that puts them at the top of the podium when the chequered flag drops.
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