Marko sees good opportunities for Red Bull: "We are cautiously optimistic"

Red Bull Racing have made great strides over the weekend in Austin. Top advisor Helmut Marko is delighted with both his mechanics and his drivers and is optimistic about the race chances.

"We considered running Q3 with the medium tyre, but we also saw if you don't overload the tyre in the first sector, the soft compound is faster. We are very proud of our team, especially when you consider that in the first practice we were still a second behind," Marko explained to the German arm of Sky Sports.

The Red Bull advisor is also very pleased with the performance of Sergio Perez. "Pérez did a very good job. Especially our pace on the medium tyres was very encouraging. We are cautiously optimistic about the race, " Marko continued.

Asked how he thinks the mood is at Mercedes at the moment, the Austrian has a sharp answer ready. "I care quite little about that," concludes the Red Bull chief.