Amid a challenging Australian GP, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez’s pace sparks strategic reflections within the team.
Sergio Perez’s pace in Australia provided Red Bull with “food for thought” amid a challenging day for the team, according to Helmut Marko.
Max Verstappen began the race from pole position but was forced to retire early after encountering a right rear brake issue.
Thus, Red Bull lacked data on what their pace could have been with their usually best car, that of the three-time world champion.
Marko noted that Verstappen could have contended for the win, but it would have been challenging against Carlos Sainz and Ferrari.
“With Max, you saw that despite the braking issues, he was able to keep up in the initial laps.”
“Checo, however, fell back… Why? At times we were two seconds slower than the race leader.”
“We need to start by looking into this. Perhaps the tire pressure was too high for the conditions or we went wrong with the settings since he was two seconds slower.”
“We thought the issues were resolved after the Free Practice sessions, which was the case for Max, I believe. But as I said, Checo’s race outcome gives us food for thought. It’s not certain Max could have won against Ferrari. He could have contended for victory but not easily.”
“Overall, it was a difficult weekend. That we still managed to secure pole position was quite surprising.”
However, there’s also a positive aspect to the Melbourne race, Marko joked.
“You won’t need to ask me now at every Grand Prix if we can win all the races this year! That’s over now.”
“We need to find out why these brakes failed. Max was confident. He even said he could have followed Sainz with these issues. That’s positive. I think the problems are purely related to this circuit. It’s nothing special. I expect Max to dominate again in Suzuka in two weeks.”
“A day like this unfortunately is also part of racing. Everyone finds it boring when Red Bull wins, so we kept our word for all those people. But not on purpose… And it’s true, it was quiet behind the scenes, but not during the race. I hope this year, it will be possible to have it quiet on both sides.”
A conclusion clearly referring to the ongoing Christian Horner case, with the employee having appealed and taken the matter to the FIA.
Marko Ponders Red Bull’s Melbourne Struggle. Marko Ponders Red Bull’s Melbourne Struggle
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