Marko acknowledges Verstappen's advantage over Perez
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Helmut Marko looks back on the first half of the season with a satisfied feeling, he tells Motorsport.com. While Max Verstappen is far ahead in the world championship, Sergio Perez found it more difficult during the course of the season. The Austrian has a logical explanation for this.
Verstappen obviously likes a car that is good at the front, while Perez has a penchant for a different style. The understeer Red Bull Racing suffered at the start of the season therefore gave the Mexican a clear advantage.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the formation was working on solutions for Verstappen and Red Bull found them. The reigning world champion began to feel more comfortable in his car, according to Marko. Perez, however, had to deal with a car that didn't suit him as well, which Marko said caused him to 'fall back to his normal level'.
However, Marko believes Perez needs to get used to this, as it is never easy being a teammate of Verstappen. The Red Bull advisor is also impressed with the latter driver, who is said to have developed significantly from last season.
Marko goes in for top speed
Although Red Bull still had to contend with Mercedes' higher top speed in 2021, this year it is the strongest. Marko argues that this is due to two aspects. On the one hand, Adrian Newey is said to have created a design with a lot of downforce without getting into a lot of trouble with aerodynamics, while the Honda engine is also said to be positive.