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SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Consultant Dr Helmut Marko and Renault Sport F1 Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul talk on the grid before the Formula One Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
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SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Consultant Dr Helmut Marko and Renault Sport F1 Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul talk on the grid before the Formula One Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Red Bull put on another astonishing display at the Circuit of The Americas to take a double podium finish. Max Verstappen came home to take the victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton with Sergio Perez in P3. However, Red Bull advisor Marko recently revealed it was not all smooth sailing for the team in COTA.
Marko stated that they were very tense throughout the race. He also gave his opinion on the title fight this season, with just 5 races more in 2021.
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We were shaking with tension the entire race: Helmut Marko
As reported by Motorsport, the Austrian stated that it all went wrong for the team when Max lost the lead to lewis in Turn 1 at the start of the race. But praised the Dutchman for managing his race on the degrading tires at the end.
“We were shaking with tension the whole race. Unfortunately things went wrong in the beginning. There was a mistake in the printing point, it wasn’t Max’s fault,” said Marko.
🎙 "Maalesef başlangıçta işler ters gitti. Baskı noktasında bir hata vardı, Max'in hatası değildi. Sonrasında erken pit stop stratejisi seçtik ve işe yaradı. Max'in lastiklerini son ana kadar yönetebilmesi inanılmazdı. Hepimiz çok gergindik."
👤 Helmut Marko#F1 #Formula1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/VEatC0wqNT
— Motorsport.com Türkiye 🇹🇷 (@motorsportcomtr) October 26, 2021
“Then we chose an early pit stop strategy, and it worked. But we were very slow in the middle of the race. Then we carefully evaluated the situation and stayed ahead of Hamilton.
“It was incredible that Max was able to manage his tires right up to the end. We were all very nervous,” said Marko. (Translated via Google Translate)
READ MORE: Who Owns the Red Bull F1 Team?
Red Bull advisor mentions Verstappen needs two more wins in 2021
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Helmut Marko explains that Max Verstappen would need to win two more races out of the 5 remaining to help his championship campaign. Helmut mentioned that the next two races are crucial, as both favor Red Bull.
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NUERBURG, GERMANY – OCTOBER 11: Second-placed Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing talks with Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner, Masashi Yamamoto of Honda, and Red Bull Racing Team Consultant Dr. Helmut Marko in parc ferme during the F1 Eifel Grand Prix at Nuerburgring in Nuerburg, Germany. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
“We are optimistic because all the last three tracks were actually Mercedes tracks. Now we go to Mexico with a margin of 12 points. Because of the high altitude, Mexico and Brazil have to follow us. We need to get good scores there.
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“Then we can sit back a bit on tracks with a lot of long straights where Mercedes can be incredibly strong,” said Helmut.
It would be really important for Verstappen to win both races in Mexico and Brazil to have a good chance to win the championship this season from Lewis.
