Marko confident: 'We are not half a second behind Mercedes'

The picture we have of the balance of power within Formula 1 has not yet taken clear shape. The winter test in Barcelona is the only reference, but Helmut Marko stresses that this is not a reflection of the teams' actual performance.

What struck the Red Bull Racing advisor most during the test days was the relationship between the weight and speed of the cars. According to Marko, the cars are heavy, but lightning fast. He is therefore excited to see how the new rules will be interpreted by everyone. "Mercedes has a very different concept from us," he states in conversation with OE24.

Red Bull hasn't shown everything yet

Marko emphasizes that Red Bull have not yet shown everything. "We are still far from the weight limit, and on top of that there are new parts," he explains. The half-second gap the team had on Mercedes in the winter test is therefore not representative, according to him.

"We are not half a second behind," he says firmly. "We drove on hard tyres, while Mercedes drove on two compounds softer." The 78-year-old man from Graz says he is looking forward to the next test in Bahrain, where the proportions may already become a little clearer.