Marko: "Surprising that Mercedes has made such a big step with the engine"

Red Bull Racing clearly does not have the fastest car, they are clearly behind Mercedes on the straight. Prohibiting the party mode, which is very effective in Mercedes in particular, should be one of the measures to reduce the gap with the rest of the field. Party mode is still legal at the moment, but Helmut Marko still has high hopes for the race on Sunday.

"On paper, Spa and Monza are circuits that do not suit us at all," explains Marko to Motorsport-Total.com. "We were really surprised that Mercedes was able to make such a big step when it came to the engine in winter. Last year we were quick in Monza and Spa. Unfortunately not in the race, because Verstappen had two accidents, but in qualifying."

Marko himself does not understand why this is happening. "It doesn't make perfect sense, but we weren't bad there. There will also be updates that will ensure that we slowly achieve our theoretical performance on the track". Marko indicates that he no longer expects great things from Honda. "There will be no more upgrades. They will all be more or less the same spec".

What Red Bull is hoping for is a ban on party mode. "We believe that banning qualifying mode will help us throughout the weekend. For next year everything is quite limited around engine developments. However, we are receiving positive signals from Honda", said Marko.