Marko: 'Red Bull drove on less fuel than Mercedes'

Helmut Marko is a happy man after the winter tests in Bahrain. Almost like every year Marko is very optimistic. This year there seems to be more reason than ever to be optimistic and it's Marko who puts the brakes on in an interview with Car, Motor und Sport.

Mercedes didn't have an ideal start of the season but we shouldn't draw too many conclusions from that: "You could see that they have certain problems. But a team that has won the world championship in the last seven years can put things right in a short period of time. But we believe that we have come much closer. Still, Mercedes remains the clear favourite," said Red Bull's advisor.

Red Bull drove with less fuel

During the winter tests, there is always the question of how much the teams want to show to the competitors. One way of not showing everything is to drive with more or less fuel. The weight the teams drive with is difficult to estimate, Marko knows. So it's hard to judge who's in the best position.

He's sure Red Bull was running on less fuel though:"It's impossible to judge that because Mercedes were definitely running on more fuel than we were." Still, it seems that Red Bull didn't get through the winter test so trouble-free since the hybrid era, and Mercedes remarkably with more problems. Therefore Marko is also certainly satisfied: "We are in good mood. The task until the race is now to evaluate the data optimally."