'Before Perez came to us, he was a Mexican driver who enjoyed life'

Helmut Marko has stressed that despite all the successes so far, Red Bull cannot rest easy just yet. As a guest on the F1 Nation podcast, Marko looked back at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the competition with the other teams, and discussed the performance of Sergio Perez.

There is no denying that Red Bull is having a great start to the season. Every race (and sprint race) so far has been won by the team from Austria, and in three of those races it was also a one-two for Red Bull. Still, there were signs in Baku that there are some cracks in the team's armour, reasons Marko.

"You see both pole positions went to Ferrari so they are coming closer. In the last couple of laps Alonso and Leclerc did the same lap times like we, we didn't slow down so it's a hard fight and you have always keep pushing," the Red Bull advisor said.

'Don't underestimate Perez'

The win in Baku eventually went to Sergio Perez, just like in the sprint race a day earlier. Perez was helped in his win by a well-timed safety car, which allowed the Mexican to make a pit stop with minimal time loss, grab the lead on the restart and not really be in danger after that. His teammate Max Verstappen was less lucky: the Dutchman was brought in before the safety car came out, causing him to lose the lead. Asked whether Verstappen would have won the race had he also gone in under the safety car, Marko has a clear answer.

"I mean, it was unlucky with the safety car. Yes, but Sergio on the street circuit, he has the most podiums here," Marko stressed. 

"So don't underestimate Sergio. He changed a lot since he came to us. He started working, before he was a Mexican race driver who was enjoying life. He still does, but he does necessary work! "