Marko: 'Verstappen as fast on hard tyre as Hamilton on soft tyre'

Friday looked good for Max Verstappen. In both practice sessions the Dutchman was the fastest, and Helmut Marko is also satisfied about today's performance from his prized asset.

"He was just as fast on the hard tyres as our opponents were on the soft," a satisfied Marko told Auto, Motor und Sport. It is difficult to make a direct comparison between drivers, because Verstappen drove mainly on the hard tyre, Lewis Hamilton on the soft.

According to AMuS' analysis, sector 1 went narrowly to Verstappen, the other two sectors slightly to Hamilton. Red Bull and Mercedes were still driving with less power today, but it seems that Red Bull has the upper hand on the straights.

Red Bull's advantage even greater in Austria

Mercedes attributes its rival's advantage to the engine and air resistance. As far as the engine is concerned, Honda is said to have taken a 14bhp lead with its second power unit. According to Marko, the advantage will be even more evident at the height of Spielberg than in France.

"That's because of our turbocharger," he says. That's as new as the rest of the power unit. The turbocharger was developed by engineers responsible for aircraft engines at Honda.