Marko reveals remarkable Red Bull strategy: 'We were looking at Hamilton'

In just one week, the mood in the Red Bull Racing garage turned from deep disappointment to exuberant joy. In a spectacular duel Max Verstappen managed to outpace his rival Charles Leclerc for the win in Saudi Arabia. Helmut Marko, as usual, does not hide his opinion of the Dutchman.

The Red Bull chief applauded the quality of the feat of racing that both drivers showed at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. "I didn't believe after last year that there was any improvement possible, but apparently there is," he says in conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport.

Whereas Verstappen was unable to attack on the medium tyre in his first stint, he was able to do so on the hard tyre in the closing stages of the race. For that strategy, Red Bull, remarkably, looked to Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver stayed on the hard tyre he had started the race with for a long time.

"We took a close look at the wear on the hard tyres with Hamilton and told Max that he could really push," reveals Marko. Another important part of the winning strategy was in the set-up the team opted for after free practice, choosing to fit smaller wings.

According to the 78-year-old man from Graz, that setup was chosen for the race and in doing so the team deliberately gave in at sector one, but were faster on the straights. "When you have a driver like Max behind the wheel, you can rely on him to make it happen," said a proud Marko.