Marko jokes about Verstappen's bad stop: 'We wanted to make it exciting'

Helmut Marko leaves the United States Grand Prix with mixed emotions. He lost his good friend Dietrich Mateschitz, but saw Red Bull Racing pay the ultimate tribute by winning the race. The Red Bull advisor spoke highly of both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

"This is exactly the kind of race Mateschitz would have loved. Both pit stops messed up, a sensational overtaking race by Max," Marko told ORF. He praised the way Verstappen managed to conserve his medium tyres in the sweltering final stage of the race. " At the same time, he was sensationally fast," he adds.

Marko jokes: 'We just wanted to make it exciting'

About Verstappen's ruined pit stop, Marko can laugh afterwards. "We just wanted to make it exciting," jokes the man from Graz. "Max's race engineer at the time was very good. He said 'forget it and concentrate'." The Dutchman did just that: he drove the race in an exceptionally controlled manner and still pulled off the victory.

According to Marko, there were several factors that gave Red Bull extra motivation to go for the win. "We wanted to win to forget yesterday's sad day. In addition, there is extra motivation when Mercedes is ahead," he added with a wink.

Marko praises Perez's performance

The Red Bull adviser also leaves praise for Perez's performance. In the early stages of the race, the Mexican lost a wing end plate, but he managed to keep the time loss minimal. " When that happens to you in qualifying you say the car is undrivable," Marko said. Perez, however, drove steadily and did not see the need to have the nose of his RB18 replaced.

"In the second stage of the race, Checo drove as fast times as Max," Marko praised the Mexican. He adds that Perez was also hampered by an inferior stop. "Otherwise he would still have caught Leclerc. When the adrenaline is good, it's also a bit psychological. The driver then compensates for what the car cannot," Marko said.