Marko: "In the race we are the clear number two"

Helmut Marko took a good look at the power of the different engines on the grid. With the possible imminent ban on party mode, the Austrian is trying to reassess the chances of Red Bull Racing.

Renault stronger than Honda engine

According to Motorsport-total.com, the Red Bull advisor begins his analysis: "Renault has a relatively strong qualifying mode, but in the race they are a lot weaker than we are. On Saturday they are as strong as we are, or maybe even stronger."

"In the race, we are clearly the number two and we are behind Mercedes in terms of engine power." Red Bull Racing, along with AlphaTauri, is the only team driving the Honda engines. The team knows how to maximize the power of the Japanese engines. However, the ban on party mode would make a big difference for the team.

Without party mode Mercedes can be attacked

"We'll see how that ban can work out," continues Marko. "Maybe Mercedes can drive longer with a certain stronger engine position. But in any case, we think that the special superiority of the team will disappear on Saturday".

"That will also affect the 'in' and 'out' laps of the pit stops during the race. If Mercedes doesn't have these engine modes, we will be closer to them".

"Although our race pace is fine anyway," Marko stressed.