Marko draws favourable conclusion after seeing McLaren during sprint race
07:48, 22 Mar 2025
1 Comments
A filmmaker with a soft spot for Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and above all, Tazio Nuvolari and Ayrton Senna, is also a diehard Formula One fan since the age of 4 (mid-90's). An avid researcher of the past of Grand Prix Racing since before it was even named F1, and with a thirst for knowledge of the ins and outs of the actuality of the sport, as well as for the technical aspects that define it, is a member of GPblog since 2023, where he has put his love of racing to good use.
Despite Oscar Piastri pipping Verstappen to P2 in the sprint race at the Shanghai International Circuit, Helmut Marko was not really impressed with McLaren, and strips McLaren's 'unbeatable' label clean off.
McLaren disappointed Marko quite a lot. "Yes, they couldn't match Ferrari. There was no speed, with Norris too. That whole race was very strange. From what I heard on the radio, Norris was complaining that he had no grip. In any case, it shows McLaren is not unbeatable. At Ferrari, Leclerc was actually also driving on the carcass [the tyre], only he was still very fast," Marko said in conversation with the Dutch branch Motorsport.com.
Marko on Verstappen's third-place finish
Marko was asked if P3 was the highest possible for Verstappen. "I would say yes, yes. Around the seventh lap, it looked like Ferrari would actually get into trouble, but they recovered and unfortunately after that the tyres went off on Max quite quickly.
"The crazy thing is that on the last lap his tyres improved a bit again and then suddenly he went eight tenths faster than before. Very crazy," Marko concluded.
ADVERTISEMENT
This article was written in collaboration with Esteban den Toom.
Don’t miss GPblog in Google
Mark us as a preferred source and our articles will appear more often at the top of Top Stories.
Add as a preferred / source on GoogleRead more about:
latest news
Austrian Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 26.06.26
Practice 1
11:30 AM
Practice 2
03:00 PM
Saturday 27.06.26
Practice 3
10:30 AM
Qualification
02:00 PM
Sunday 28.06.26
Race
01:00 PM
Friday 26.06.26
Practice 1
Fri 11:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 03:00 PM
Saturday 27.06.26
Practice 3
Sat 10:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 02:00 PM
Sunday 28.06.26
Race
Sun 01:00 PM
Times are in your local timezone
Rumors
Popular on GPBlog
1
Carlos Sainz suggests radical F1 shakeup separating drivers and teams over course of the season
1107 times read
2
Ferrari told to back Hamilton over Leclerc in 2026 title fight
816 times read
3
Sky reporter recalls wave of massive online abuse sparked by Verstappen interview
689 times read
4
FIA keeps Red Bull Racing in suspense over controversial decision
657 times read
F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 156 | |
2 | FerrariFER | 115 | |
3 | MercedesMER | 106 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 75 | |
5 | McLarenMCL | 73 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 70 | |
7 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 55 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 37 | |
9 | AlpineALP | 32 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | 28 |
Loading
