Marko takes Hamilton into account for victory: 'A rocket in that Mercedes'

For Red Bull Racing, the Brazilian Grand Prix could be a key weekend in their bid to close the gap in the Constructors' Championship. With Lewis Hamilton starting in P10, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen could more than make up the two-point gap for the Milton Keynes-based team. Helmut Marko, however, is expecting Hamilton to advance.

Speaking to Sky Sports' German division, Red Bull's advisor acknowledged that they have a clear battle plan ready."Our strategy is clear, we have to get past Bottas as soon as possible. After all, Hamilton made every overtake on the straight with an incredible engine and impressive speed. If we don't have free air, Hamilton is definitely a contender for the win."

Mercedes impresses

According to Marko, there is a clear difference between the speeds achieved by Hamilton and his Finnish teammate, Valtteri Bottas. The Mercedes driver managed to win the sprint race yesterday, ahead of Verstappen. Hamilton in turn made up fifteen places, which has impressed the Red Bull camp."You see his top speed compared to Bottas. It's a fresh engine and a real rocket."

"It's really ideal for this circuit. We need to make sure we can get as many points as possible without taking extra risk," Marko concluded, referring to Verstappen, who needs to get past Bottas as quickly as possible.