Red Bull boss issues WARNING after claiming rivals are ahead in Japan

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko fears Red Bull have fallen behind rivals ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

This comes after a less than ideal Australian Grand Prix for the Austrian team, which saw Ferrari close up to be within four points of the champions.

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Championship leader Max Verstappen suffered a DNF in the opening laps of the race, with Sergio Perez only managing a fifth place finish.

Ferrari were in the perfect position to capitalise on Red Bull’s misfortune, sealing a 1-2 ahead of both McLaren’s.

Despite a positive FP1 session that saw Red Bull back on top, Helmut Marko fears that Ferrari will also be strong in Japan.

In an interview with Peter Hardenacke for Sky Germany, Marko assessed their performance so far.

Hardenacke: Oscar Piastri set the best time during the end of the session but the Racing Bulls were right behind.

Marko: I didn’t even realise that Piastri was on that list.

Hardenacke: How do you summarise the day for Red Bull?

Marko: We are happy with the day. We brought in extensive upgrades and they worked. I hope that the weather tomorrow is better but Ferrari during the long runs, with Charles driving 3 laps with the hards was very insightful.

Hardenacke: Are you saying that you believe that Ferrari is going to be a serious opponent this weekend?

Marko: Leclerc was one second faster. It’s not the reality when you use less petrol, which Ferrari does do sometimes. The data does show that their engine power is up. That puts them a tiny bit ahead of us.

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