Marko: "Hamilton didn't spare his tyres quite as much as necessary"

Helmut Marko calls Max Verstappen's win in Austin one of the best races he has ever seen him do. Red Bull Racing's strategy proved crucial in securing victory, but Marko also saw a factor in the Mercedes camp that he believes played a part in the result of the race.

The Austrian saw Verstappen come back strongly after a somewhat difficult start. He did so not only by driving a flawless race, but also by influencing the team's strategy. Sergio Perez also played a key role in the United States Grand Prix. He passed his team-mate after running wide at the first corner, obeyed Red Bull's strategy changes with no holds barred and also finished on the podium without a drop of water for the entire race.

Hamilton had nothing left according to Marko

By bringing Perez in earlier, Mercedes were forced to pit Lewis Hamilton earlier than planned. According to Marko, this played an important role in the final stages of the race, when Hamilton looked to be getting dangerously close to Verstappen.

"We knew it was going to be tight at the end," the Red Bull advisor said in conversation with ORF.

"We had of course heard the communication between Mercedes and Hamilton, about when he would unlock and so on [the last three laps, ed.]. However, I think he didn't spare the tires quite as well in his chase to catch up as it would have been necessary for him to be able to launch a real attack at the end," Marko concluded.