Red Bull looked well placed for a good weekend in Turkey but eventually, it ended in disappointment as both drivers finished further down the top ten than they would have liked. Advisor Helmut Marko has explained how Max Verstappen missed out on pole position despite looking nailed on.
Wrong choice of tyres
The 77-year-old Austrian came to a simple conclusion: "We lacked routine and tranquility," he said in conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport. Marko explaind that the team was seduced by Sergio Perez's choice to drive intermediates. "Max immediately said that he also wanted intermediates."
At the time, Verstappen was still driving around on Pirelli's rain tires, and he also clocked purple sector times with them. Red Bull decided to take Verstappen to the pits to exchange his wet weather tires for intermediates. "If he had stayed outside on the rain tires, he would have stayed in the rhythm and we would have had a chance to grab pole position," Marko continued.
Stuck behind Kimi
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The next problem for Verstappen was that he did not get past Kimi Raikkonen, who was very quick in the rain. "As a result, he was unable to warm up the tires as he wanted and ended up with only one free lap. He also made a mistake and that cost him the pole position."
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Japanese Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 27.03.26
Practice 1
02:30 AM
Practice 2
06:00 AM
Saturday 28.03.26
Practice 3
02:30 AM
Qualification
06:00 AM
Sunday 29.03.26
Race
05:00 AM
Friday 27.03.26
Practice 1
Fri 02:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 06:00 AM
Saturday 28.03.26
Practice 3
Sat 02:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 06:00 AM
Sunday 29.03.26
Race
Sun 05:00 AM
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F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 51 | |
2 | MercedesMER | 47 | |
3 | FerrariFER | 34 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 33 | |
5 | HaasHAA | 17 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 15 | |
7 | AlpineALP | 9 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 8 | |
9 | Racing BullsRCB | 8 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | 4 |
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