Marko has a tough goal set for his Red Bull Racing team in F1 2020
F1 News
Last year, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team advisor Helmut Marko stated how he was aiming for five wins across the course of the season. With just three wins achieved by Max Verstappen, this goal was not reached. Despite this, Marko has taken it up another notch.
Marko wants Red Bull Racing to be Lewis Hamilton's closest challenger. To get as close to Hamilton as Valtteri Bottas did last year, he'll need at least 15 podium finishes, six more than the Dutchman made last season.
In an interview with Austrian newspaper Krone, Marko explains the goal and sounds confident in at least getting close. He also states how important it was for Honda to sign a contract extension so that their number one driver could have confidence in the team for 2021.
“The batteries are working at full speed again. We will show the car on 12 February and the first tests will start in three weeks. We have one big goal: we want to be Lewis Hamilton 's first challenger. For Max Verstappen it was important that Honda extended to 2021 so that it was already fully involved in the development of this car," Marko said.
“According to regulations, the 2021 car will be the biggest change in the past fifteen to twenty years. So it was a mutual assessment of the possibilities and appreciation, that is how we came to an extension of the contract."
Calmer start for Verstappen
According to Marko, we can expect a slightly quieter Verstappen in 2020: “You can look for a Max who does not start with the grit between in his teeth in Melbourne. He knows that you don't win the world title in the first corner, not in the first race, but with constant top performance," Marko concluded.