Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was clear after the Hungarian Grand Prix: it was the worst race weekend of the season for the Austrian racing team. The team only gained two World Championship points after the Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. However, Red Bull believes it has identified the problem with the RB21 for both Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda: ‘The tires didn’t work,’ concludes Marko.
The weekend started off poorly for both Red Bull drivers on Friday, with a ninth place during the first two free practice sessions being the highest achievable for both drivers. Red Bull has often been able to turn the tide from Friday to Saturday, but at the Hungaroring, the racing team did not manage to make the necessary turnaround. While Max Verstappen still managed to reach Q3 during the qualification, Yuki Tsunoda already stranded in Q1. In the end, both drivers could not achieve more than a ninth and sixteenth place.
“It was our worst weekend of the year so far,” advisor Helmut Marko does not mince words after the race with ServusTV. “The tires did not work the way we wanted throughout the race. Max Verstappen was able to drive as fast as the men at the front of the field for a while, but that was only for two or three laps. Perhaps a one-stop strategy would have been faster, but even then we would not have finished higher than sixth or seventh place.” McLaren decided to go for a one-stop strategy with Lando Norris, which ultimately helped the driver secure the win.
Tires
However, according to Marko, there is also good news after the disappointing weekend. The Austrian reveals that Red Bull already knows what went wrong at the Hungaroring. “The tires didn’t work,” the advisor continues. “As a result, the damage is limited to this weekend only. I don’t think it will happen again, if that is indeed the underlying reason.”
