Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko explains in the RTL / ntv interview why there is no clear team order for the “Bulls”, but Max Verstappen is clearly ahead compared to up-and-coming teammate Sergio Pérez. The world champion is the “faster” and the “more constant” of the two Red Bull drivers, says Marko.
The first discussions flared up after the Spanish Grand Prix, when Red Bull instructed Sergio Pérez, who was in the lead, to please let Max Verstappen pass as quickly as possible. That’s how it happened and the Dutchman clinched victory in Barcelona. Pérez’s prestige coup in Monaco a week and a half ago, however, fueled the debate about the power structure in the racing team again. Can Sergio Pérez actually become world champion at Red Bull?
Or does he, as a supposed Verstappen wingman, as a helper and water carrier, not have permission from the team at all? After all: Only 15 points separate World Cup leader Verstappen from the Mexican.
RB consultant Helmut Marko gives the line of the racing team in the RTL / ntv interview. Of course Pérez could become world champion. But the truth is just out there. And here it is clear who dominates, says Marko. “He can become world champion. But then he has to have the speed and beat Max clearly on the track,” says the RB eminence.
The results speak for Verstappen
“We generally have no team orders or number 1 policy. If you compare the results, it’s four wins for Max, one win for Pérez. He (Verstappen, ed.) is the more constant. In terms of absolute speed, Max is the one , who dominates here,” says the 79-year-old. “Now we’ll see how it develops.”
Marko explained the stable order in Spain with the different tire strategies on which Verstappen and Pérez were traveling. The three-stop strategy that Verstappen had to switch to after his problems at the beginning proved to be much faster. Pérez would not have had a chance “due to the speed” to counter it. In his opinion, this was not a stable order in the true sense, the Austrian thinks, Pérez was told: “Let him pass as soon as possible, he has a chance of winning. You are on two completely different tire strategies, Max’s works better. It It’s about the win and the team points.”
Verstappen still doesn’t like the handling of the car
In general, the situation has not changed for Marko after Pérez’s victory in Monte Carlo. Because Verstappen is still “the faster”. It was now in Monaco for the first time “that he had problems in just one corner over all four practice sessions, which threw him back behind Pérez.” Marko admits that Verstappen is not yet 100% satisfied with the RB18. “The handling may not be to his liking yet. He wants a car that has absolute grip on the front axle.” This is now being worked on.
His team has some ideas as to what could be changed on the racer. Above all, the focus is on the vote and the ongoing overweight, Marko will not be more specific. However, a large update package is currently not to be expected. According to the team consultant, the cost cap and the time factor clearly restricted the team.
But even without expensive upgrades, the situation for Red Bull is promising. Thanks to the strong Pérez, Red Bull is on course to triumph in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships for the first time since 2013 (back then with Sebastian Vettel). “The chances are good because we have two strong drivers,” says Marko. “Pérez has improved and thanks to the technical change, he’s getting on much better with the car. We still have to work on reliability. Three failures are too many. In terms of speed and consistency, we’re able to have a serious word about the designers – WM to have a say.”
Leclerc as the biggest rival – or is Mercedes coming?
Marko continues to see Charles Leclerc as Verstappen’s biggest opponent for the driver’s world championship crown. The Ferrari man led the standings until the Spanish GP, where he retired with an engine problem, and now sits between Verstappen and Pérez.
“I currently see the strongest competitor in Leclerc,” analyzes Marko, who does not rule out a three-way battle at the top. He still has Mercedes on the list. In the meantime, both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton had unwound “sensational lap times”. Not continuously or in qualifying, but “they are there”. If Mercedes manages to use these times over a race distance, then “I see them in it” in the World Championship fight.
Verstappen’s lead over Russell is 41 points. But in the end, the world champion himself proved how fast it can sometimes be to catch up. After his failures in Bahrain and Australia, he fought his way back to the top position with three wins in a row.
Pérez in particular should be looking forward to the track at the upcoming race in Baku. Last year, the 32-year-old snatched the first win for Red Bull there. Verstappen, on the other hand, has never made it onto the podium there. So it cannot be ruled out that Pérez will suddenly lead the World Cup at the weekend.
Felix Gorner and Emmanuel Schneider