Helmut Marko Pokes Fun at Ricciardo After Mexican Grand Prix Pole

It was nothing less of a miracle what Daniel Ricciardo did last night. He was off the pace compared to his teammate, Max Verstappen in all three practice session and wasn’t even a contender for pole. While his teammate took provisional pole after the first run in Q3 yesterday, he came from nowhere to showcase to Red Bull what they are going to miss next year. He took pole by a mere 0.026s and thus ensuring Verstappen doesn’t become the youngest pole sitter in Formula One.

While the two drivers at Red Bull had entirely different emotions to display, the team was nonetheless very happy since it was their first 1-2 since 2013. It was a special moment for them, considering how much they’ve struggled in the hybrid era to replicate what they were from 2010-2013.

Helmut Marko, the current head of Red Bull racing had some choice words for the pole sitter, asking him to enjoy as much. “He might be waiting a bit longer for another when he’s driving for Renault”, he was quoted saying. 

Since Ricciardo made the call to jump to Renault for 2019 onwards, things haven’t been particularly good with him and his team. He’s faced mechanical problems in almost every other race while Max has gone on to clinch podiums. Max was also quoted saying that his teammate’s situation is so miserable, there are internal jokes within the same around it. He was further denied to test the news 2019 Pirelli compounds with Red Bull and was denied the permission to forth towards towards Renault by the team.

Helmut Marko, has openly expressed his concern with Ricciardo’s future in Renault.

“I am sorry for poor Ricciardo, but he will have to live with these problems for another two years,” Marko was quoted by news agency GMM.

“Next season, with the Honda engine, I think we [Red Bull] can fight for the championship, the project is very good, promising, and I really think that.

Christian Horner also blamed Renault for the Australian’s poor run in the 2018 season.

“What’s ironic is it’s always on his car. It was the other way round last year with Max, but as Renault’s premier driver I think you wouldn’t expect these issues to be happening.”, he said.