Marko despite damage Verstappen: 'Makes us optimistic for tomorrow'

Helmut Marko is hopeful that Red Bull Racing will score a one-two tomorrow in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He saw that the RB19 has superb speed on the streets of Baku, despite Max Verstappen losing a lot of time due to a hole in his sidepod.

"We expected this speed," said Marko, who was pleased with how quickly Perez ran away from Leclerc after overtaking. The Mexican eventually crossed the finish line almost five seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver. Verstappen did not manage to overtake Leclerc yet, but the Austrian consultant said that was 100 per cent due to the damage to the RB19.

"Our people with the cameras saw nothing, but the pictures have now shown it clearly. The tyres also got [too] hot a lot faster than at Checo. That indicates that the handling and balance were a lot worse," Marko told ORF. "But the [result] makes us optimistic for tomorrow. It shows that in race space, we are right there."

Sunday's race is three times as long, and that should play into Red Bull's hands. "The fact that we are much better in the race than in qualifying and that the race distance is longer tomorrow should all play in our favour. Also, we start tomorrow with new mediums. Ferrari already used those today, and then they won't have a spare if there is a safety car. So also from the tyre situation, we should be in a better position," Marko concludes.