Marko calculates: 'Must win ten races for the championship'

Helmut Marko is very happy with Max Verstappen's victory in the United States. The Dutchman has already won eight Grands Prix this season and if he can finish first in two of the five in 2021, the Red Bull Racing advisor reckons he has a good chance of winning the world title.

"As I've said before, we need to win ten races if we want to win the championship, so we need two more. Then maybe we can sit back a little bit on the Middle East circuits because those circuits have insane straights and Mercedes will definitely have an advantage there," Marko told Sky.

The next two GPs will take place in Mexico and Brazil, circuits where the Red Bull car is normally very competitive. "The last three races were actually all Mercedes circuits and instead of coming to Mexico with a deficit, we are coming to Mexico with a 12-point lead [in the World Championship]. Mexico and Brazil should actually suit us even better because of the altitude."

Content with Perez performance

Sergio Perez seems to be getting into better and better shape and Marko is also noticing that. "He was far enough upfront that we forced Hamilton with his pit stop to actually go in the direction that was best for us. So from that point of view, it fits. He's getting better and better."