Marko thanks Ricciardo: 'He helped Verstappen indirectly'

Daniel Ricciardo's crash indirectly helped Max Verstappen in the Japanese Grand Prix. So says Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko in his analysis for Speedweek.com.

The Formula 1 weekend in Japan seemed to start well for Verstappen, but the Dutchman was not entirely convinced by the set-up of his RB20. The racing pace of Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the longruns also looked like it could pose a threat to Red Bull. Moreover, Verstappen's pole lap was just enough to secure himself the best starting position.

Marko: 'That's why we were not immediately at our best in Japan'

"Only in the race were we right back. That was partly due to the changes in qualifying and partly due to the higher temperatures, which traditionally favour Red Bull Racing," Marko said. "The reason why we were not at our best with the set-up was probably the major technical update we applied in Japan." The fact that the second free practice was virtually cancelled did not help this, according to Marko.

"The tuning of Max's front wing proved crucial, which was also caused by the higher temperatures on Sunday. Max wanted more wing, his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase wanted less," said the 80-year-old Austrian. In radio traffic during the race, Verstappen and GP discussed the issue again: Verstappen admitted that - as GP had advised - he would be better off with a small adjustment in the tuning of his front wing.

Marko thanks Ricciardo for indirectly helping Verstappen

However, the most important adjustment could be made shortly after the start. The crash of Daniel Ricciardo and Alexander Albon halted the F1 race, giving teams the opportunity to make minor adjustments. "By stopping the race, we were fortunately able to re-adjust the wing. Indirectly, you can say Ricciardo helped Verstappen, because from the restart everything was green for Max," Marko said.