Max Verstappen and Red Bull have dominated Formula 1 for the past two seasons. The Dutch driver remains the favorite for the 2024 F1 title after winning the first two races of the season. However, Red Bull could face a stiff challenge from Ferrari in the coming races. Now, Dr. Helmut Marko has revealed his concerns after Max Verstappen’s pole lap in Jeddah.
Marko recalled that he expected that Milton Keynes would have a more difficult weekend in Saudi Arabia despite winning getting a one-two finish in Bahrain. Moreover, Helmut Marko admitted that his fears were realized after Max Verstappen clinched pole in Jeddah.
After Bahrain I had expressed the fear that in Saudi Arabia we would have had some more difficulties. Helmut Marko wrote on SpeedWeek
The 80-year-old claimed that the lap exposed some issues for Red Bull despite finishing three-tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc. Marko had recently mentioned that Ferrari might be closing the gap to Milton Keynes over the course of the season. This could pose a threat to Red Bull and Verstappen.
To some extent my fears have materialized. Max's unusual qualifying round, with three tenths ahead of Leclerc, hid some of problems.
Previously, Max Verstappen had claimed that he struggled with slippery old tires during the ending stages of the race. However, a sufficient gap to the rest of the grid enabled the Dutchman to comfortably take his second win of the season.
Helmut Marko reveals Red Bull faced issues with tire temperature in Jeddah
Max Verstappen had a great start to the Saudi Arabian GP. The three-time world champion gained a gap of over a second after the first-lap of the race. However, Helmut Marko admitted that Red Bull struggled with tire temperatures during the race, especially when Verstappen faced traffic.
We had difficulty bringing hard tires to temperature and when Verstappen found himself in traffic he lost temperature in the tires.
Marko reckoned that the Dutch driver lost tire temps when he was behind back markers in Jeddah. The Austrian claimed that this exposed that Red Bull were facing more problems tire degradation in Saudi Arabia despite tire degradation being the main strength of the radically-designed RB20 at the Bahrain GP.
Our advantage in Bahrain was the low tire degradation, but in Jeddah this advantage was not so obvious
Certainly, Red Bull might need to sort out its issues with tire temperature in the coming weeks. For now, this problem has not affected Max Verstappen as the Dutch driver continues to dominate the grid. Although, it could become a headache for Milton Keynes if Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz begin to fight Verstappen for race wins.
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