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Helmut Marko claims Red Bull ‘alarmed’ by Charles Leclerc’s pace during Monaco GP practice

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Aditya Pandya | Last updated 5/24/24

All eyes will be set on the local hero, Charles Leclerc to score some great results in Monaco. Ferrari’s newfound pace has enabled their chances of competing with the dominant Red Bulls at the front. Moreover, after Leclerc’s performance in FP1, the Monegasque could potentially challenge Max Verstappen for the race win in Monaco. Hence, Red Bull advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko reckoned that Milton Keynes was ‘alarmed’ by the 26-year-old’s raw pace.

Ferrari has already scored a race win despite Red Bull’s highly dominant campaign. Even McLaren was close to scoring a race win in the Emilia Romagna GP. Helmut Marko had reckoned that the Austrian team would face challenges at the Monaco circuit. As a result, the team expects great competition from Ferrari for Max Verstappen, especially from the homeboy Charles Le c lerc.

The RB20 has had its fair share of issues since the last few race weekends. As a result, Marko highlighted that the chassis was ‘too bumpy’ around the slim streets of Monaco. The 80-year-old further commented that Leclerc’s lap time during FP1 around the circuit was ‘alarming’ for the team.

The car is too bumpy at the moment, but it looks worse than it is. For us, only Leclerc's time is alarming. The others (at the front) drove on the softs. Helmut Marko said, as reported by motorsport-total.com.

Helmut Marko revealed it was ‘reassuring’ to see RB20 lose time on only ‘one curve’

Red Bull didn’t have many struggles around the Monaco circuit during the 2023 season. As a result, the team expects Verstappen to bring home the race win this time around as well. However, with the imminent issues in the chassis, the team could face another loss over the weekend.

Helmut Marko accepted that Red Bull was losing crucial lap time around the circuit. Regardless, it was ‘reassuring’ for him that the time was only lost around ‘one curve.’ Hence, if the reigning world champion can fend off Leclerc, the team can expect a win.

It is reassuring that we only lose it in one curve. Helmut Marko noted.

Apart from this, Marko believes that Red Bull could fix the issues in time for the Qualifying session to facilitate Verstappen to score the pole position. Additionally, even McLaren could pose a threat to the Austrian constructor at the Monaco GP. Hence, Red Bull could pull off a great comeback and score a win despite the various hurdles.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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