Helmut Marko saw Verstappen's face and knew everything he needed

For the first time in over twenty years, the retired Helmut Marko was absent from Red Bull Racing’s pit box. At home in Graz, Austria, the now 82-year-old was nevertheless an attentive spectator. In an exclusive interview with GPblog, he says: "It was relaxing. Exciting in the beginning, and yeah, I enjoyed it. I also watched F2. So, how should I say? I enjoyed it, but I don't miss being there."

Marko hasn’t completely let go of Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls. In Graz, he has several screens on which he can closely follow all the teams’ data. "Yes, I have all that and I get reports from our teams. So I'm well informed and I enjoy it again."

In the first race without Marko, Red Bull Racing had no chance of victory. P6 was the maximum for Max Verstappen, and Marko understood how the Dutchman felt. "Today I didn’t speak with him, but I saw his face and he did not look very excited."

It wasn’t Red Bull’s weekend anyway. "No, it started with the qualifying crash from Max. And in the race I think Hadjar did a good job but then the engine failed."

"Fortunately, out of four, only one failed. So generally the job it did is a very good one," Marko added about the Red Bull Ford power unit, which made its debut in Australia.