Marko wants recognition for Verstappen: 'Mercedes applauded for P2 and P3'

Red Bull Racing may be in an excellent position with a 97-point lead in the Constructors' Championship and an 80-point lead in the Drivers' Championship, but Helmut Marko says it's not time to rest on your laurels. With nine races to go, anything can happen.

Red Bull cannot sit back

Speaking to oe24.at Marko stressed that there are still 225 points to be distributed, plus the points for fastest laps and the sprint race in Brazil. "We really can't sit back yet," says the Austrian. Nevertheless, Max Verstappen does not currently have to pull out all the stops to win the championship, unlike Charles Leclerc.

While Ferrari started the season strongly and were seen as the favourites for the world title in the early stages of 2022, that image has now changed. This is despite the strong car the team still has. How is that possible? "By doing almost everything wrong", is Marko's simple conclusion. He points to the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Ferrari went wrong with both their tyre choice and pit stop strategy.

Verstappen scored a spectacular win at the Hungaroring by pulling off a fine upset from P10, but Marko feels his performance is being overshadowed by all the praise Mercedes are receiving for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell's double podium. "You are celebrating Toto and Mercedes as big winners with second and third place," argues the 79-year-old man from Graz.

Mercedes believes it had a chance of victory were it not for Hamilton's DRS problem on Saturday. However, Marko stresses that Verstappen would have disappeared on the horizon had he started at the front. "I just want to see that Max's performance is appreciated enough. After the bad luck in qualifying, he won from tenth on a circuit where you are not supposed to have a chance from the back. If he had been up front, he would have disappeared straight away," said the Red Bull advisor.