Helmut Marko

Marko DISMISSES rivals and makes Red Bull Canada admission

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko is very bullish about his team's car right now

Dan McCarthy

Friday 30 June 2023 16:57

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has admitted that his team were not at their best in Canada, in a stark warning to their rival teams.

Max Verstappen stormed to his sixth win in eight races so far this season with a lights-to-flag annihilation of the rest of the grid, en route to what is looking likely to be a processional title race.

The Dutch superstar is 69 points clear of team-mate Sergio Perez, currently the only man who has won races in 2023 other than Verstappen.

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Mercedes in particular have made progress recently as they look to close the gap to Red Bull while Ferrari put a disappointing day of qualifying behind them by getting both of their drivers to finish inside the top five.

Yet Red Bull are still the dominant force heading into this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix and Marko has fired a big warning to his rivals ahead of the team's home race.

Verstappen could not be caught in Canada

He has dismissed the perceived improvements of other teams and instead believes Red Bull were not at their best at the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve.

“Yes, they did close the gap here, but we didn’t perform as we should have," he told the F1 Nation podcast.

“We struggled to bring the tires up to temperature, especially the hard tire. Everyone believes that the Red Bull is fantastic.

“Yes, it’s a good car, but Ferrari and Mercedes haven’t made significant improvements from last year.

“I believe they have regressed at the start of this season. So, when we are not at our best, they are closer. It’s as simple as that.”

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