Marko sees problem compared to Ferrari: 'That's where we lose time'

Red Bull Racing is still just short of Ferrari in Australia. Helmut Marko spoke to ORF after the first free practice session and puts his finger on the problem.

During the first free practice session, Red Bull Racing with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez did not get further than the third and fourth places. They were more than half a second slower than Carlos Sainz' fastest time. Charles Leclerc was also faster than the Red Bull duo and Marko sees where his team is losing out.

Work to do for Red Bull

''We have to see how the track develops. At the moment we are losing too much time on Ferrari in the last sector. Sainz is eight tenths ahead of Max. We have to think about lowering the top speed a bit and focusing more on downforce,'' the Red Bull Racing advisor explained.

Prior to the second free practice session, Red Bull indeed seemed to be tinkering with Verstappen's car to provide it with more downforce. On the yellow tire, Red Bull was still a long way from the Ferrari's, but after several attempts on the soft tire, Verstappen found himself between the two red cars on the timesheet. Verstappen was therefore optimistic after Friday and Christian Horner also looks forward to this weekend positively.