Marko spells out the key factor Red Bull need 'to keep Verstappen happy'

Speaking in an interview with Blick, the Austrian believes Mercedes are currently ahead of Red Bull, but says the latter have done a solid job on the engine — no small feat given it is the very first power unit built entirely in-house at Milton Keynes, albeit with technical support from Ford.

Aside from an overnight issue that forced Red Bull to miss part of the morning session, the RB22 has shown strong reliability on track, despite never really chasing outright performance.

Red Bull’s power unit has caught the attention of Toto Wolff, who went as far as calling it the benchmark in terms of energy deployment after watching it closely out on track.

Mercedes had been tipped by many as the pre-season favourite, but the Silver Arrows’ team principal offered a contrasting view, instead placing the spotlight on their rivals.