Helmut Marko is delighted after the first day in Saudi Arabia. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez finished in the top three during both sessions on Friday. Verstappen was the fastest man in both cases. Marko saw a strong Red Bull in both the short and long runs. Ferrari was very disappointing, but the Austrian expects that the Italian team has not yet shown the back of the tongue.
The Red Bull drivers made a good impression on the opening day of the Grand Prix weekend at the Jeddah Street Circuit. Verstappen finished at the top of the timessheet in both sessions and Pérez was also consistently in the top three. “We are satisfied,” says Marko in conversation with the German branch of Sky Sports. “I think we found the right direction with the setup.”
Verstappen and Pérez completed various race simulations. The Dutchman completed his long run on the soft tyre, while the Mexican had the medium tire fitted to his RB19. Marko explains why Red Bull chose this strategy. “We have to see which tires are better for the race, so we used different tires in the long runs.”
Marko does not think Ferrari has a chance yet
Ferrari did not look too good in Jeddah on Friday. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz seemed to be having a hard time with the SF-23 and the Monegask even reported feeling something strange about the engine. Nevertheless, Marko still takes Ferrari into account for the rest of the weekend. “It is much closer together and the tire wear is also less than in Bahrain. Ferrari has not yet pulled out all the stops in the motor field. Behind us it will hopefully be an exciting fight between Alpine and Alonso. And possibly also with Ferrari’, he thinks.
