“I think the circuit, might be a better fit for Mercedes”– Red Bull boss Helmut Marko feels Mercedes has an edge at Zandvoort.
Formula 1 has returned to Zandvoort for the first time since 1985, and Max Verstappen fans are ready to support him with all the might in the championship race.
However, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko thinks that Mercedes might perform better than them at the Dutch circuit despite it being Verstappen’s home race.
“I think the circuit, with all those corner combinations, might be a better fit for Mercedes,” Marko told Kronen Zeitung. “But we have Verstappen, who will outperform himself in front of the Orange Army.”
“It remains a close fight [and] nobody comes close to Max and Lewis right now. Our seven wins to Mercedes’ four shows that we are generally the faster team.”
Verstappen was greeted by fans at the circuit with a massive roar during Free Practice 1, with the Orange colour representing the Dutch identity was flared.
Mercedes edges past Red Bull in FP1
Maybe Marko has some ground in his claim, as Mercedes bagged Fp1’s session to their name after Hamilton sealed P1 after recording a difference of nine-hundredths of a second.
Full details from FP1 at Zandvoort #DutchGP 🇳🇱 #F1 pic.twitter.com/yAFHPfc7N0
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 3, 2021
Though the session was majorly cropped, Sebastian Vettel’s car had major faults, which caused a red flag, and was only resumed when it was ensured that his car is safe to lift from the track, though only five minutes were left.
A frustrating start to the weekend for Seb as his FP1 ends prematurely 😖#DutchGP 🇳🇱 #F1 pic.twitter.com/onp0q7s9Iv
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 3, 2021
Following this, the session was resumed and brought in good news for Mercedes, but honestly, Verstappen is not that far away, so an intense battle is expected.