“We are champions” » FirstSportz

The Spanish Grand Prix looks set to be a Ferrari vs. Ferrari battle Red Bull race, with Charles Leclerc on pole and Max Verstappen right behind him in P2 on the grid. The differences in the front row are exceedingly small, both over a single hot lap and over long runs.

Verstappen was in his zone during the long runs during Friday’s free practice sessions. On the medium tyres, the reigning F1 World Champion had a harder pace to hit than Ferrari’s F1-75. Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc was clearly in the lead on track the next day, suggesting he was able to hold the softs decently for a long period of time.

Red Bull also saw Ferrari take the necessary steps within 24 hours. “They’ve definitely improved. You should see how close they got to us.” said Red Bull advisor Helmut Markus. However, the Austrian ex-racer believes they have an advantage over Italian racing team Ferrari.

Also read: Helmut Marko has called Ferrari’s claim that Red Bull spent 75% of its F1 budget for 2022 “nonsense”.

Red Bull is under a lot of pressure: Helmut Marko

“We are world champions. The situation is new for Ferrari. The pressure is greater there. And Max has proven in the last two races that he doesn’t make any mistakes and immediately exploits the slightest weakness of his opponent. I hope Checo Perez can still help him in the race.” added Marko in an interview ahead of the main race of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen appeared to be plagued by a serious problem during yesterday’s qualifying race. Verstappen was unable to defend his provisional pole due to a loss of power, but Red Bull can feel relieved as it wasn’t the engine but the DRS.

The DRS did not open. The power was fine, but the fact that it didn’t open gave it [Verstappen] the feeling that something is wrong with the engine”, explained Helmut Marko to draw attention to the real problem that Verstappen seemed to be facing yesterday.

Also read: “We have to… respect each driver’s individuality”: Lewis Hamilton finds a surprising ally in Red Bull’s Helmut Marko

Also read: “Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari” were Helmut Marko’s bold predictions ahead of the weekend in Spain