Marko: "In qualifying it didn't work so well, in the race hopefully it will".

After a run of five wins, Red Bull Racing had to acknowledge Mercedes in qualifying for the sprint race on Friday. Max Verstappen complained in Q3 that his tyres were not up to temperature. Helmut Marko confirms this was the case.

According to the Red Bull Racing advisor, the temperature of the front tyres differed from that of the rear tyres, and this was the cause of the disappointing result in qualifying. "What we did did not bring the necessary balance to the car," Marko said in conversation with Motorsport-Magazin.

This is in contrast to the first free practice, where Verstappen didn't seem to be bothered by anything. According to Marko, this is due to the lower temperature of the asphalt, combined with a change in the set-up that the team made. "That didn't have such a positive effect in qualifying, but should have in the race," he explained.

Yet Mercedes was also stronger than expected. "We lose surprisingly a lot on the straights," says Marko, who nevertheless has high hopes for the rest of the weekend. "Hamilton is only a few hundredths ahead, which is a good result for us."