Hekmut Marko and Max Verstappen

Marko details how Red Bull outsmarted McLaren with Verstappen's Sprint win in Spa: ‘That was our plan’

15:24, 26 Jul

Updated: 15:25, 26 Jul

bySamson Ero

Helmut Marko has weighed in on Max Verstappen’s victory at the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint. The 82-year-old detailed how the Red Bull Racing team outsmarted McLaren with their well-executed race strategy.

Verstappen, who had started the sprint race on the front row, quickly got past Oscar Piastri to take the lead of the race on the opening lap. The Dutch driver would largely control the rhythm of the race to eventually finish in first place at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Marko, reacting to the win by the three-time world champion, explained to the media — including GPBlog — how it was largely a well-executed strategy by the team:

“Yes, that was our plan, you know, after Eau Rouge to be straight behind him and overtake and then stay in the lead. But it was a very, very good performance from the whole team, and Max also hit two small whoppers, but also Piastri had his moments. But it worked and it showed how difficult overtaking is here."

So my hope for tomorrow… the weather forecast is not good. It will be difficult to find the right solution, but for sure with such a small wing we can't win tomorrow.”

Marko speaks about Verstappen's chances in the main race

Helmut Marko also weighed in on Max Verstappen’s chances of winning the Grand Prix on Sunday. The Red Bull chief expressed optimism, provided the race remains dry:

“I think we would be fast enough, and we saw that the tyre degradation on Piastri's car was similar or maybe even worse than on ours. So if it would be dry, we still see a chance.”