Marko: 'Verstappen must show he can do it in difficult conditions'.

Helmut Marko was not happy with Sergio Perez on Friday. The Red Bull Racing advisor hopes Checo can recover in qualifying and start in the top five on Sunday. Max Verstappen should go for pole position.

Perez had a disappointing qualifying session in Bahrain after crashing out in Q2. Things should be a lot better in Imola and Marko hopes Perez can start in the top five on Sunday. "We hope Max will fight for pole with Mercedes. Perez has to step up to the front hopefully he manages to qualify in the top five", Marko told Austria's ORF.

Verstappen lost a lot of time on Friday, as he had to stop early in the second free practice session due to problems with his drive shaft. Marko is confident that Verstappen can drive a strong qualifying session.

"We have a superstar like Verstappen, he now has to show that he can deliver an optimal performance even under difficult conditions", Marko revealed. Verstappen secured pole position in Bahrain and looks set to be the favourite in Italy too.

After Verstappen's car came to a stop yesterday, the RB16B's onboard camera remained on. "We even thought for a moment that they would take the car to Maranello," jokes Marko. Incidentally, Marko does not expect the problems Verstappen had on Friday to return on Saturday. "Absolutely, that's out of the question."