Marko reveals Verstappen battle plan: "That's the theory we have".

Helmut Marko enjoyed the second pole position of Max Verstappen this season. During qualifying for the French Grand Prix, the Dutchman had a relatively large margin over runner-up Lewis Hamilton, something that doesn't happen often.

"During the course of the practice sessions, we found the optimal set-up. That was already clear during the third free practice, where we were about three tenths ahead", says Marko in conversation with ServusTV. The Austrian was very confident of a good result beforehand. "It was relatively easy - so a pole is never easy, but I mean in terms of a combination of car, engine and driver."

Perez narrowly missed out on splitting the Mercedes. That's something that would have made Marko's day. "We were actually hoping Perez would finish third, but he came up a few hundredths short," said the top man, who is looking forward to Sunday. "Overall we are in a good position for tomorrow in the race."

Red Bull's battle plan

Speaking to the Austrian television channel, Marko was also able to say a few words about Red Bull's battle plan in France. "We want to win the start, pull away at the front, take a second (on Mercedes, ed.) because the straights are long here and the DRS effect is strong. Then you control the race at the front. That is the theory we have. Mercedes certainly have one too, but I think it could work for us," he concludes.