After a disappointing weekend in Australia where Max Verstappen was unable to finish the race, the Red Bull Racing team has fully recovered in Japan. Verstappen and teammate Sergio Pérez qualified on the front row and were also the first two to cross the finish line. Team advisor Helmut Marko explains to Motorsport.com how the team worked.
Before and during the race, the wing position of Verstappen’s car was adjusted. The discussion about what to do with the wing position initially led to a remarkable conversation between racing engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and Verstappen. But adjusting the wing position was not the only thing that ensured this weekend’s success.
Package of upgrades
According to Marko, three factors played a central role in achieving success this weekend. “First of all, people must understand that we have brought a major update package this weekend,” he says. This package consisted of four updates. For example, the floor and floor edges were adjusted. Inlets were also added and the brake ducts were reduced in size.
‘Furthermore, the circumstances were completely different today. The track temperature was fourteen degrees higher than the days before,” Marko explains. The Austrian believes that this has indeed made a difference to the team’s performance. Earlier, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said that he believed that the difference in track temperature had not affected his team’s performance. “Thirdly, we have made the right changes in terms of setup towards the race,” Marko explains.
Today Max Verstappen was again the man of the race. The Dutchman set a time of 1:54:23 on the Suzuka circuit. Verstappen himself has not been very pleased with his performance in recent days. For example, he thought his qualifying lap was ‘not perfect’. In Marko’s eyes, however, Verstappen seems to be able to do nothing wrong. ‘The race is always different for Max anyway. In the race he only needs one of our four-wheeled cars to win!’
