F1 News: Helmut Marko praises Red Bull star for not getting 'destroyed'

Helmut Marko storms out of the Red Bull truck with a can of Red Bull in hand — Photo: © IMAGO

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Marko praises Red Bull star for not getting 'destroyed'

The Red Bull advisor had some kind words for his driver

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 7 March 2024 14:57

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has praised driver Sergio Perez for his performance in relation to Max Verstappen at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Verstappen cruised to victory in style, beating second-placed Perez by over 22 seconds, despite a weekend that threatened to unravel for the world champions.

However, Perez also did himself justice, recovering from a poor qualifying to bring home Red Bull's second successive season-opening one-two.

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The Mexican driver struggled to keep up with the supreme Verstappen for much of the 2023 season, placing his position within the team into some doubt heading into a season in which Perez is out of contract.

Perez insisted that he hasn't been given any targets by his team, but being able to consistently put his car directly behind Verstappen in both qualifying and races will surely put him in good stead to be given an extension.

Sergio Perez struggled to keep up with Max Verstappen in 2023

Max Verstappen claimed victory in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix

Perez trying to mount Verstappen challenge

Now, Marko has praised Perez, despite bundling heaps of criticism on him during 2023, and has said that he did well to beat the Ferraris and Mercedes cars.

Perez revealed before the season his ambitious plans to 'go one better' and beat Verstappen to the world championship title.

“Yes, it was a very good race for him," Marko told Motorsport.com.

"Don’t forget that he was stuck behind the Mercedes and Ferrari cars for a while, but once he was in free air he showed competitive lap times.

“But yes, he has Max as his team-mate. So not to be destroyed by Max is already a big achievement.”

Red Bull Max Verstappen Mercedes Sergio Perez Helmut Marko Bahrain Grand Prix