Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko predicts a tough race for his team as Max Verstappen remains alone at the front of the grid against Mercedes.
Red Bull’s performance on Saturday didn’t deliver a convincing output. Max Verstappen sees himself alone at the front of the grid after fetching P2.
Meanwhile, his teammate Sergio Perez would be starting the race at P11. Therefore, it would be easy for Mercedes to overwhelm Verstappen, with the Silver Arrows clearly showing better pace.
Mercedes’ duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas picked the pole and P3 by the end of qualifying, giving Verstappen no breathing space for the race.
The Mexican would be busy clearing the midfield at Losail before contributing a significant amount of points to Red Bull. Seeing this, the Red Bull adviser believes that the race on Sunday would be difficult for them.
Helmut Marko said that the gap is alarming, Red Bull hopes that with more fuel, the balance is getting better.
“Tomorrow will be a difficult race.”#QatarGP
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) November 20, 2021
Also read: McLaren team principal is not happy with how FIA let Max Verstappen go unpunished
The qualifying was an ache for Red Bull
For Verstappen, qualifying was a hugely complex task. He even cites Perez failing to enter Q3 to validate his woes on Saturday against Mercedes.
“Checo is not even in Q3 so it definitely shows we are struggling a bit more than normal. But nevertheless it’s still second, so it’s all to play for. But I wish we could have fought for more,” said Verstappen during the post-qualifying interview.
It has also been reported that Hamilton was running on the older engine in qualifying. Thus, it would only make him even more lethal for the race on Sunday.
How will Red Bull overcome the odds is remained to be seen. But if things stay the same, it would be a calamity to the Milton-Keynes-based team’s championship prospects.
