Red Bull F1 advisor Helmut Marko has seemingly killed two birds with one stone by aiming a dig both at Renault and Mercedes.
The 79-year-old recently took a jibe at the two teams while explaining why was Red Bull’s championship win last season was more impressive than all of Mercedes’ wins during the turbo hybrid era.
The Milton Keynes outfit dominated the Constructors’ Championship last season as they registered a whopping 759 points. In stark contrast, second-placed Ferrari only scored 554 points while third-placed Mercedes scored 515.
Helmut Marko claims Renault gave Red Bull a ‘weak engine’
While speaking via OE24, Helmut Marko made some bold claims about Red Bull’s championship win last season as compared to Mercedes’ dominance during the turbo hybrid era.
“The difference is that Renault gave us a 50 hp weaker engine. Mercedes produced its own lack of chances (in 2o22 and 2023),” he claimed.
Red Bull Racing, which moved from Renault to Honda engines in 2022, struggled to perform at the level of Mercedes during the turbo hybrid era.
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Marko believes these struggles were down to Renault’s poor engines than Red Bull’s inability to produce a quick car.
However, with Mercedes, the 79-year-old claims that a similar argument cannot be made for them as the team uses its own engines.
It is pertinent to note that Marko is making these claims despite the Silver Arrows winning a record eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships from 2014 to 2021.
Also Read: Red Bull Taskmaster Helmut Marko Praised Sergio Perez for Breaking Stereotype Against Max Verstappen
Mercedes make a poor start to the 2023 season
While no eras of domination last forever, Mercedes’ fall has been rather dramatic. After eight years of domination, the Silver Arrows began last season as the third fastest team, way behind in terms of pace as compared to Red Bull Racing and Ferrari.
And instead of rectifying their errors from last season, they seem to have fallen further to the midfield pack.
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Lewis Hamilton, who finished fifth at the season opener in Bahrain, explained how Mercedes is currently the fourth-fastest team, behind Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, and now even Aston Martin.
The 38-year-old, who won six world championships with Mercedes, has seemingly been left frustrated by the way the Silver Arrows have worsened.
In a recent conversation with the BBC, the Briton slammed his team for not listening to his advice. Hamilton had told the team last year that there were issues with the car.
“It’s about owning up and saying, ‘Yeah, you know what? We didn’t listen to you,” the seven-time world champion explained.
