Red Bull Insider: Max Verstappen Dominance is "Nonsense"

Helmut Marko doesn't believe Max Verstappen, or even Red Bull as a team, will win every race this season.
Red Bull Insider: Max Verstappen Dominance is "Nonsense"
Red Bull Insider: Max Verstappen Dominance is "Nonsense" /

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has admitted that he believes the idea that Red Bull has enough dominance to win every race this season is "nonsense" after information from just one race.

He also expressed his interest in seeing what Mercedes does next after a slow start to the 2023 F1 season. Despite improving in the second half of last year's championship, Mercedes struggled during the first race of the current campaign in Bahrain, prompting team principal Toto Wolff to state that he does not believe the package will be competitive.

Marko, along with the rest of the paddock, is curious to see what the Brackley squad will do next, noting that Mercedes got lost somewhere with their W14, and they haven't made any progress from last season. 

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“Apparently they got lost somewhere,” he said to 

oe24

. “I’m curious to see how they continue now.

“Due to the cost cap it is already such a problem to routinely develop the car further. How are you supposed to put together a completely new car?

“Unless they make the golden shot, which I wouldn’t assume based on recent experience.

“They haven’t made any progress from last season. If you look at the distances, it was even a step backwards.”

There is speculation that Mercedes could swap design concepts or even produce a B-spec car to address their issues.

Red Bull Dominance is "Nonsense"

Marko has ruled out the possibility of Red Bull winning all 23 races, saying that one slip-up and a rival team such as Aston Martin could take the lead.

“They might not get on pole all of the time, because we know that Ferrari are very competitive in qualifying, but when it comes to race pace, I think they’re in a very, very strong position.”

But winning each of the 23 races of the season?

“That’s nonsense, you can’t say that after a race. You only have to make a mistake in the setup, as happened to us in Brazil last year.”

Marko Reflects On Aston Martin in Bahrain

Red Bull's nearest challenger in Bahrain was Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin. Marko laughed, saying that they saw a third Red Bull on the podium. 

“The Aston Martin looks most similar to the Red Bull, which is not surprising. Eventually important people switched from us to them. The car is pretty much the same as last year’s Red Bull.”

Could Alonso bring a challenge to Max Verstappen this year?

“It depends on what else they have in their quiver. The duel with Hamilton was definitely worth seeing – tough, fair but with incredible skill.

“By the way, I wanted to show this scene to Max after the race, but he said he saw everything on the big screens anyway while he was leading the race.”


Published
Alex Harrington
ALEX HARRINGTON

Alex is the editor-in-chief of F1 editorial. He fell in love with F1 at the young age of 7 after hearing the scream of naturally aspirated V10s echo through his grandparents' lounge. That year he watched as Michael Schumacher took home his fifth championship win with Ferrari, and has been unable to look away since.