Marko has good news for Perez: 'Almost everything is in his favour now'

Sergio Perez's contract extension at Red Bull Racing seems closer than ever. While Perez himself expects the deal to be completed soon, Christian Horner was a little more cautious. Yet Horner and Helmut Marko also acknowledged that Perez seems the best candidate to keep the seat next to Max Verstappen. Marko emphasised this again after qualifying.

After qualifying, Marko reacted positively. "Not only were we strong in qualifying, we had won the sprint race before that and it's also Red Bull's 100th pole position. I don't know where we are in the standings, but I think we have quite a big lead. So far it has been a weekend where the whole team has done very well. We have been able to constantly improve," he jubilantly told ServusTV.

Marko has good news for Perez

The 80-year-old Austrian is therefore full of praise for both drivers. "We were able to make the most of the limited practice time we had at our disposal. Max then also built up a respectable lead, which shows his extraordinary class. The fact that Checo finished second is also pleasing and proves that he is having his strongest season so far this year. Of course, that is also very important for the future," he stressed.

Asked whether the Mexican may keep his Formula 1 seat if he continues to perform so well, Marko replied: "Of course you always want to have the best people in the team. And with Checo's performance and the harmony there....The two get along well and are relatively similar in terms of set-up, which of course makes all the technical work easier because the data is similar. So there is a lot, almost everything, in Checo's favour at the moment."