Helmut Marko Picks His Favorites for Monaco, and It’s Not Max Verstappen or Lando Norris
Red Bull finally showed cracks in their dominant front at the Emilia Romagna GP. Sergio Perez heavily faltered in qualifying with a Q2 knockout and Max Verstappen nearly lost as Lando Norris maximized McLaren’s latest upgrades. This duel in the concluding stages of the race established McLaren as the second victory contender of 2024, leapfrogging Ferrari. However, Red Bull Team Advisor Helmut Marko is unconcerned about the Woking outfit’s threat at the Monaco GP up next.
Since the beginning of 2023, Verstappen had been cruising to victories with over 15 to 30 seconds to his rivals. However, in Imola yesterday, Norris’s upgraded MCL38 was a better brute than the Dutchman’s RB19, reducing the gap to only 0.7 seconds in the last Lap. Helmut Marko theorized that the non-cohesiveness of the individual upgrades caused problems for Verstappen. Nonetheless, his brilliance still earned him his 5th win of 2024.
Red Bull, however, only has a few days to fix their issues. The Monaco GP is the second race of the Italian/French double-header. Here, Marko expects the winds of change to strike violently, with Ferrari being the favorite over McLaren.
“We know we’ll have to fight in Monaco, for sure,” Marko said, as quoted by Motorsport’s Italian branch. “And Monte-Carlo is a track where everything is decided in qualifying. It will probably be one of the most difficult for us also because of the curb issue. But I think the Ferraris will be stronger than the McLarens because it’s all about qualifying,” the 81-year-old concluded.
Formel 1 GP Holland / Zandvoort. Freitag, 25.08.2023 Dr. Helmut Marko Formel 1 GP Holland / Zandvoort. Freitag, 25.08.2023 *** Formula 1 GP Holland Zandvoort Friday, 25 08 2023 Dr Helmut Marko Formula 1 GP Holland Zandvoort Friday, 25 08 2023 Copyright: xBEAUTIFULxSPORTS/Erlhofx
Monaco is also Charles Leclerc’s home race. This gives the Maranello outfit an extra boost to ensure that Max Verstappen’s heroics are kept in check. But as we saw, Sergio Perez’s missing presence from the front cost Verstappen a teammate that could defend from McLaren. Neither Marko nor Team Principal Christian Horner were impressed with that.
Helmut Marko and Christian Horner rue Sergio Perez’s lack of support for Max Verstappen
Similar to 2023, after a few brilliant performances, Sergio Perez showed first signs of struggle at the Imola GP. The Mexican driver, like his 3-time champion teammate, struggled in practice. But unlike Verstappen, he fumbled the bag in qualifying, getting knocked in Q2.
Christian Horner was understandably irate, highlighting how Perez should’ve been at the front supporting Verstappen, as the McLaren and Ferrari duos did. “We need him (Perez) obviously up there supporting Max in the same way the two Ferraris and the two McLarens are together,” he said.
Formula 1 2022: Abu Dhabi GP YAS MARINA CIRCUIT, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – NOVEMBER 18: Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, and Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing during the Abu Dhabi GP at Yas Marina Circuit on Friday November 18, 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images) Images) PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxONLY GP2222_110827SMG_1287
Even Helmut Marko weighed in on this unlucky situation. “That was a bit unfortunate,” he said post-qualifying. “At first, he was driving on used soft tires, then on new soft tires, and he was surprised by the grip he had. I think he lost three-tenths at Turn 7 and that was enough [to be out in Q2] with the tight field.”
Perez will be under immense pressure to avoid such a mistake in Monaco. Qualifying in the principality decides the race results unless any major crashes happen. So a Q2 knockout is as good as the weekend failed entirely. Though Charles Leclerc has said that Ferrari doesn’t expect their upgrades to perform before the Canadian GP, they could be verbally sandbagging. In a few days, the weekend of all or nothing begins.
The post Helmut Marko Picks His Favorites for Monaco, and It’s Not Max Verstappen or Lando Norris appeared first on EssentiallySports.
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