Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko was surprised after Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda qualified P8 and P16 for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Marko pointed out that “something was not right” on the RB21 F1 car, since it was “faster with used tires.”
The qualifying session at the Hungaroring didn’t go as per Red Bull’s expectations, as Tsunoda was knocked out in Q1. Although he did acknowledge that his pace was now closer to Verstappen’s, both cars have a lower chance of finishing in the top three.
Marko was left surprised by the unusual behavior of the car, which was faster on used tires than on a new set. Speaking to Sky Sports DE after the qualifying session, as quoted by RacingNews365, he said:
“Thank God we still found something. The gap to the leaders has narrowed considerably. But something is still not right, because we were faster with used tires. That shows something is not right.
“Now let’s see how this develops further. Obviously, the lower temperature has changed a lot.”
Given McLaren’s dominance in the season thus far, Marko thought it was hard for anyone to beat them until Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured pole position yesterday. Praising the Monegasque driver for putting in the best flying lap, Marko said:
“Charles Leclerc’s pole came more or less out of nowhere, amazing. I didn’t think anyone was capable of beating McLaren at this circuit.”
For the Grand Prix on Sunday, the 82-year-old advisor is slightly optimistic, given the higher chances of overtaking than in the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps. He said:
“A tough day, but I think it might be two stops. By the way, Yuki Tsunoda drove in the points last year with one-stop.
“A lot is possible, we saw that in Formula 2. There it was quite intense and there was a lot of overtaking. Interestingly enough, that seems to be easier here [than in Belgium].”
Tsunoda pointed out after qualifying that the RB21’s balance was not the problem, but the sheer lack of grip compromised his lap times. He said:
“I don’t know. The car balance itself is not that bad. But just the grip level that the car is providing is very, very low. It’s not the level that we normally feel. Throughout the week, I think there was a positive from our side of the garage that we are consistently closer to Max. Some sessions we were ahead. So, something to take a positive, but at the same time, it is not easy for our team.”
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