Red Bull won the most important race of this season before the weekend: that around Max Verstappen and his whereabouts in the team. The team from Milton Keynes is becoming increasingly difficult on the track: the world champion does not get out of eighth place in Budapest on Saturday, teammate Tsunoda fails in the first qualifying section.
Nevertheless, there is praise from Red Bull Advisor Helmut Marko-for both pilots: “Even in Q1 it was difficult for us. Yuki was only a tenth behind Max and didn’t do it.”
But the 82-year-old points out to the Japanese: “He was closer to him than ever. So there was a clear increase. And Max”, says Marko at “Motorsport-Total.com”, “I think he really did an outstanding job”. Despite the weak result …
Because even before the fight for the starting places, new team boss Laurent Mekies had a difficult start in Budapest, spoke of a lack of grip: “Already on the very first run yesterday you had the feeling that something was wrong,” the Frenchman admitted to “Sky” since then – but you have to say honestly: We have not yet found the solution. “
Verstappen scolds: “As if I was going on ice”
The weak quality result confirms his assessment a little later – just like a radio message from world champion, who complains that he does not hit the right work window by car, it even “already feels” as if I was going on ice “.
“If you look at the whole weekend, we can actually be happy that we did it in Q3 at all. I was more often outside the top 10 as inside,” is therefore relentlessly relentless settlement: “No grip, neither at the front nor at the back – and that has not changed in qualifying.”
The Red Bull Pilot admits that “no surprise” is the bad performance, but he would not have expected such a clap either: “Not to the extent. I never had the feeling that it would be our strongest weekend. But I think nobody expected that.
Especially since you still didn’t find out why: “No, obviously not – otherwise we would of course have changed it long ago. Somehow somehow nothing works this weekend,” says the Dutch frustrated.
It is not a consolation that Red Bull had big problems on Hungaroring in the much better previous year: “I think we qualified much closer to the Pole last year, just a few hundredths away. At that time we were much more competitive. This weekend it just feels wrong from the first round.”
Verstappen explains: “We have tried a lot, changed the car in all directions, but nothing has shown us a clear direction. And of course this is the biggest problem: Usually you get at least positive or negative feedback when changing the set -up – but now nothing works.
Marko about Red Bull: “This is not normal either”
Meckies, who at least draws hope from it, also confirmed that in Hungary you have already tried a lot: “In such situations you learn a lot,” the Frenchman wants to encourage his people. However, this is very cheerful, but the World Cup is written off for him: “We no longer fight for the championship. We just try to have a good weekend here and there, but this is definitely a bad one so far,” says the world champion.
“I didn’t have a single curve or round this weekend, in which the car felt good, it was just a slide so far,” says Verstappen for the Grand Prix on Sunday.
After qualifying with “Motorsport-Total.com”, Helmut Marko does not talk about the hot porridge: “We didn’t manage to bring the car to the working window where the tires work.”
The Grazer still wants to see a little bright spot: “But we have improved, because we are now much closer to the top cars,” he says with a view of Verstappen three and a half tenths. Marko also reveals: “Interestingly, we were faster with used tires than with new ones, of course that is not normal either.” The result: “It will be very difficult tomorrow.” Because the Austrian points out: “We can’t change anything on the car anymore.”
The unstable weather forecast for Sunday Red Bull could possibly play something in the cards: “Maybe the temperature will play with or it will come. It is often a hectic race here, probably with two pit stops. There are still certain options,” Marko has not yet given up. Although he also has to admit with a view to Saturday: “No matter what we changed or adapted – it didn’t work.”
Record on Sunday? Max: “Perhaps before”
The fact that you are completely new to us in the dark tape, “this is completely new for us,” says Marko at a loss: “We just didn’t find the necessary grip across the entire qualifying. There was progress, but frankly we still don’t know what exactly.”
Against this background, in any case, Verstappen does not believe that he can show a catch -up again: “Perhaps earlier”, he wins with a view to Red Bull’s current potential – and instead looks more into the rearview mirror: “Maybe there are a few cars in front of me with which I can fight a bit. But Lewis is also a little further back where he shouldn’t be – he will work forward.” Probably to the dismay of Red Bulls …