The team could only manage sixth and ninth on the grid for Sunday’s US Grand Prix.
Helmut Marko believes Sergio Pérez accidentally blocked Max Verstappen during qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, costing him a tenth and a half.
On the first flying lap of Q3 in Austin, Verstappen completed the final sequence of corners, just as Pérez set off on his own fast lap – complaining on the team radio about the apparent confusion.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were both faster in their early runs, with Verstappen’s second attempt complicated by a lock at Turn 1 before the timing was eventually thrown out because of track limits at turn 19 .
That would be great. enough to secure pole by 0.005 seconds for Verstappen, who is now sixth with Perez ninth in a difficult session for Red Bull.
Marko explains Red Bull’s qualifying
“We knew it was going to be close [in qualifying but on Max’s first lap] in Q3, Checo got in our way,” Marko ,
motorsport consultant, at ServusTV said.
“It was a communication error, when the second turn passed the first turn there was a blockage and it was tragic when you went from first to sixth position.
“The cars in front of [Max] are all strong competitors and it will be a tough race. “
It was a Red Bulls practice session – Marko hinted that the RB19’s relatively poor performance was due to the bumpy surface of the Austin track.
” The bumps made us make more mistakes. more than others, we can’t ride with the ride height we planned,” he said.
“But in the long run, we can make up for it. “On Sunday, temperatures will be very high and dressing will play a role, which is one of our strengths.”
Regarding Perez’s performance, Marko noted a “clear improvement” from the Mexican, who was “always stronger in the race than in qualifying”.
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