“Only Perez drove the full package”– Helmut Marko reveals Max Verstappen didn’t have latest Red Bull upgrades

“Only Perez drove the full package”– Helmut Marko reveals Max Verstappen didn’t have the recent developments for Portimao.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fetched a P2 in the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday, but overall he made several errors, which allowed Lewis Hamilton to exploit him and gain his 97th Grand Prix win.

However, Helmut Marko has come to explain that Verstappen didn’t have all the technology required to dominate the race, while his teammate Sergio Perez had.

“Only Perez drove the full package, Max did without the wing,” Marko told Auto Motor und Sport. “We can’t do that to Max, now that he has a car for the first time with which he can become world champion. We will see further depending on the World Cup standing.”

Marko last month told that his team would continue to develop the car this year, as they find themselves in contention to beat Mercedes for the world title.

Red Bull can lose the grip.

So far, Red Bull is only 18 points behind Mercedes in the constructors’ title race, while Verstappen has a slim deficit of eight points to overcome against Hamilton.

The current difference can be easily erased if Red Bull dominates the next race, but at the same time, the tide can also shift towards Mercedes, who have shown that they are not as weak as they were projecting themselves.

Surely, the title race from here on would be an exciting spectacle, with F1’s entourage heads to Barcelona. Last year, Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix spectacularly.

If the Briton repeats his last’ years efforts, the 2-1 score between Hamilton and Verstappen would further extend, and the Dutchman may get pressured to match his rival.

If Verstappen registers a win, it would be game on once again before the Monaco Grand Prix, which will happen later this month.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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