Marko doesn't rule out Mercedes yet: 'Actually like it has been all season'

Following their success at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, Red Bull Racing are confident of a repeat victory this weekend. Helmut Marko is confident but expects the gap to Mercedes to be smaller than the first weekend.

"I suspect Mercedes will come to a good and efficient setup faster than last time. And if they find anything, it will be tight. Actually, as it has been all season," Marko explained in a conversation with ORF. The first signs are that they still have a lot of work to do though, as Mercedes were still several tenths behind Max Verstappen's time in the first free practice.

Marko hopes for new Pirelli tyres

During that same first free practice, a new type of tyre was also introduced, a prototype from Pirelli to test with a new rear tyre. If this test is successful we will see this new tyre as the new standard from the race at Silverstone.

On Friday in Austria, the tyre was driven a lot and therefore a lot of data was collected. Marko, before the first free practice, expressed his expectations of the new tyre and hopes that the test will go well for teams and drivers."If the trend remains the same, then it could be even more of an advantage for us, because the softer tyre is even more sensitive."