Marko saw 'subdued' shootout for Red Bull: 'That was unexpected'

Charles Leclerc is not only the polesitter in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix but also starts from first place in the sprint race. For Red Bull Racing, the sprint shootout was a somewhat subdued session, according to Helmut Marko.

Whereas Red Bull is known to be prepared for all scenarios, the team was surprised by the fast tyre degradation in qualifying for the sprint. "It was a bit subdued for us. The rear tyres had practically given up after the first lap," Marko admitted in conversation with ORF.

"As a result, we lost too much in the second sector. We didn't think it would go so fast," the Red Bull advisor continued. But Marko also manages to see the positive side of it: "Thank God we are not using the soft at all," he added. "But it must be said of Ferrari that they are really strong here."

Regarding Saturday afternoon's sprint race, Marko states that Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will not go all out. "We will optimise our choice of tyres for the main race. In the sprint, we will try to score as many points as possible, but not at any cost," Marko said.