“We will decide”– Helmut Marko is relieved with the fact overtaking is possible in Sochi, as Red Bull still deciding on the engine change.
Red Bull is looking into spotting the perfect date to bring in the fourth engine change for Max Verstappen to prevent the maximum damage to their championship prospects.
With him already having a grid penalty for Russia, the Milton-Keynes-based team is contemplating taking the additional engine change penalty there only.
Helmut Marko claims that they still haven’t decided whether to go with this arrangement or not, but he is glad that it will cost them little concern as overtaking is possible in Sochi, giving Verstappen a genuine chance to end closest to Lewis Hamilton as possible.
“We have to replace the engine sometime in the next races because of the damage in Silverstone,” the Red Bull advisor explained. “That doesn’t necessarily have to happen in Sochi – but it could.” Marko said.
“We wait for qualifying, we wait for the weather conditions – and then we will decide. The engine change could be possible if the overall picture of overtaking and such gives us a chance of points, if we start at the very back,” the 78-year-old Austrian continued.
“But thank God overtaking is possible in Sochi. We will see how the speed will be compared to Mercedes and then the strategy from our side will be based on that.”
Mercedes hegemony in Russia is not relevant anymore
In all the races that happened in Russia, Mercedes have won all, and with Verstappen lingering down in the grid, it makes it even more possible for the Silver Arrows to continue enjoying their hegemony there.
A reminder that Mercedes are undefeated in the #RussianGP since 1913 😳 pic.twitter.com/75mrxTyC4E
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) September 20, 2021
However, Marko differs from concurring and thinks that his team has already obtained massive ground this year, and Mercedes glorious stat in Russia may not be relevant anymore.
“That is no longer relevant, because we have made up a lot of ground this year and have been competitive at almost all tracks,” Marko concludes.
