Marko applauds 'incredible demonstration' Verstappen: 'That's how Max is'

Max Verstappen has to take five spots of grid penalty in the Belgian Grand Prix, but that did not stop the Red Bull Racing driver from going all out for the fastest lap. Helmut Marko explains the importance of correct timing in tricky conditions like those at Spa-Francorchamps.

"You have to be there at the right time. Further on the sky is blue, here the sky is black," Marko told Sky Deutschland. "Q2 didn't go smoothly for us, it made little difference. In the second run of Q3 Max flew, it was an incredible demonstration," he applauded the performance of Verstappen, who will start from P6 despite his fastest time due to a grid penalty.

There was an interesting exchange of words between Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during qualifying, with the two not quite agreeing on the approach taken for Q2. "There was a disagreement about who wanted to drive where outside. That's how Max is when he's under pressure. He always wants the best, that's what makes him so competitive," Marko commented.

The outlook for the race is positive for Red Bull, with Perez starting from the front row of the grid, while Verstappen is expected to make up for his grid penalty relatively quickly on track. "P3 is totally fine, Sunday it's row one on the grid for him," Marko said of Sergio Perez's performance. As for Verstappen: "He has an incredible overview. He will not risk anything, but we hope he drives relatively quickly at the front," Marko said.