Marko definitely does not expect a repeat of Brazil: 'Error started then'

While things did not go well for Red Bull Racing in Brazil precisely because of a lack of practice sessions, the team does not seem to need the third free practice session at all, according to consultant Dr Helmut Marko. The Austrian does not expect a repeat of the 'failed' weekend in Sao Paulo.

Repeat Brazil ruled out for Red Bull

The dominant 2022 team did not even make it to the podium in Brazil and was beaten by both Mercedes. Marko gives more insight into where things went wrong for the team in Brazil and is pretty sure that the mediocre performance in Abu Dhabi will not be repeated. Auto Motor und Sport quotes Marko: "The error [in Brazil] already started in the simulator. Then there was only one practice session because of the sprint format. Then the balance was fixed and we couldn't get out of the trap. With the usual three sessions, we could have avoided that."

Whereas Marko would have liked to have seen three free practice sessions in Brazil, that does not seem necessary this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Red Bull started the weekend strongly on Friday and, in addition, FP3 will provide unrepresentative data. Red Bull already sent Max Verstappen out on Friday with two different sets of soft tyres. Marko explains: "We can afford that. The third free practice will again take place in the heat and is therefore irrelevant. We will save a set [of tyres] with that."