Helmut Marko believes that if Max Verstappen wins two more races, he’ll be able to lift the 2021 world championship trophy.
Helmut Marko restated that Red Bull’s primary concern is with Mercedes’ recent straight-line speed boost – estimated by him to be 15kph – enjoyed by Lewis Hamilton.
The Red Bull chief said, “Mercedes is very fast, there is no doubt about it. But the gap has shrunk considerably and the long runs looked good. It will be a tough race this weekend, but it is not as clear on the Mercedes side as we previously thought.”
After several intensive meetings and a lot of analysis, Red Bull seems to have found the secret of Mercedes’ straight-line speed – a system that lowers the ride height.
Marko said, “we have found an antidote in theory, but let’s see how it looks in practice.” However, a Mercedes source said that the team has been using a system like that for years and other teams have it. Maybe, even more, effective than Mercedes.’
Also Read: Red Bull boss Christian Horner points out trick by Mercedes which helps them go faster
Max Verstappen edging closer to the championship title
After the dutch driver called his British rival “stupid idiot”, the Red Bull advisor said there had been skirmishes between the two drivers more than once.
The former Austrian driver added, “we already know that they won’t be dining together. But that’s not necessary either.”
Neck and neck in the title battle, and in FP2 😲 #USGP 🇺🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/wXuBD6kecG
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 22, 2021
He warned that just trying to defend until the Abu Dhabi finale would not be enough. “We still need two wins and four podiums. That should be the formula for the world title.”
Verstappen still leads the driver standings over Hamilton by six points. If Mercedes’ obvious worries about engine reliability result in a DNF for Hamilton, Verstappen really will be the favourite for the championship.
However, Toto Wolff denied the speculations that there is a fundamental problem with “air valves” in Mercedes’ latest power unit specification. “You are being fed a lot of bulls**t,” the Mercedes boss blasted.
Also Read: Toto Wolff on Valtteri Bottas’ sixth Internal Combustion Engine of season ahead of USGP
