Marko after amazing P1 Verstappen: "We are very positively surprised".

Helmut Marko sees chances for Max Verstappen to move towards the podium in the Belgian Grand Prix. The fact that Sergio Perez failed to finish third is somewhat disappointing in the opinion of the Red Bull Racing advisor.

Despite the Dutchman being by far the fastest in qualifying, the balance of the RB18 has been tuned to take into account that Verstappen will have to overtake a lot of guys ahead of him. It might make Verstappen's performance even more impressive.

"You can overtake here and we have set it [Verstappen's car] up so that we have a very good top speed, also because of the DRS, and with that, he should be able to at least get close to the podium," Marko is quoted by the German arm of Sky.

On Verstappen's one amazing lap in Q3, the Austrian said: "We are very positively surprised by how great it was here. That was an unbelievable lap, completed so easily, without any hesitation."

Marko on disappointing Perez

The RB18 was a lot faster than the F1-75 this weekend, at least over one lap. Despite this, Sergio Perez failed to qualify his car ahead of Carlos Sainz. After a strong start to 2022, Perez has been struggling in recent months. Marko's conclusion: "As a South American, Checho generally has many ups and downs." What Marko means by the bit about 'South American' is not entirely clear.