Co-author: Chiara Martin
The Austrian GP made George Russell a two-time race winner, caused champion leader Max Verstappen to slip back and finish the race in P5, and resulted in Lando Norris retiring his MCL38 from the race entirely.
The battle between Verstappen and Norris eventually ended in a controversial collision, and Red Bull’s Helmut Marko seemed understandably frustrated when speaking to Sky Deutschland after the race.
“It was a very tough duel, where I believe it sometimes went beyond what was necessary.
“We knew that Lando had already crossed the white line three times. That was a procedure. That action brought both of them back.”
Noting that the collision resulted in poor results from both drivers, Marko noted that it was not needed.
“Lando was completely out of the race, and Max was deprived of the victory, which I saw as completely unnecessary.”
With much debate online and from commentators, opinions are flying everywhere. The stewards decided to hand Verstappen a 10-second penalty in the end.
The Dutch driver was on the back foot in the last stint as he was on used mediums versus new ones for Norris, not helped by his slow stop.
One widely talked about theory is that Verstappen moving under braking, forcing Norris to exceed track limits once too often as he got a fourth strike with one of his divebomb moves.
Marko defended him however, explaining“that was in Turn 3, but Lando Norris also exceeded track limits in other corners.
“It was a shame because it was a great fight. It started with us not having any new medium tyres and that the pit stop went wrong for us the first time.”
He added that the duel could have been handled differently, emphasising that “it was unnecessary hard driving from both drivers, and it could have been resolved differently.”
The team’s strategic choices came under scrutiny as well, as their initial plan to use fresh hard tyres changed due to the track condition and temperature.
“The temperatures were significantly lower than we had anticipated. It was overcast. The asphalt temperature was also much lower.
“As a result, the hard tyre didn’t work as we had expected. We were actually forced to go on the used medium, which was not initially planned.”
Reflecting on the race weekend, Marko described it as “a very exciting weekend filled with a lot of emotions.”
The Austrian also says that so many factors are involved now, such is the fine margins between Red Bull and Mercedes.
“It shows that you can’t afford the slightest mistake, like our pit stop going wrong, being surprised by the tyre strategy and temperature. And then it becomes difficult.”
Despite the controversy, Marko maintained that Verstappen’s actions were within the limits of the race and drove fairer than his British rival.
“I see what Max did as more within the limits than what Lando did.”
