Helmut Marko about Ferrari: “The Red Bull Ring suits them well.”

Helmut Marko is the king of comments, punchlines and bold predictions. But it is certain that Ferrari will be a tough opponent on Red Bull’s home turf in Austria.

No doubt: Ferrari will be present for Marko

The director of Red Bull’s young driver program claims that Ferrari will be a threat, based on what was observed in Montreal: « What went a bit wrong in Montreal: Ferrari had the fastest car », declared the Austrian. Indeed, a communication error in qualifying prevented Charles Leclerc from achieving a better result than 11th. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, was penalized for impeding other drivers. Starting 10th and 11th on the grid, the Ferrari drivers were not in the best conditions for the race. But thanks to a good strategy and a very interesting pace, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz respectively finished 4th and 5th in the Grand Prix.

Based on these results, Red Bull and Helmut Marko believe that Ferrari can play a role during the weekend. “The Red Bull Ring suits them well,” Marko recalls. Last year, Charles Leclerc won in Austria ahead of Max Verstappen, despite pedal issues in the final laps of the race. So why not? Ferrari may well be at the forefront once again.

More than Ferrari, Helmut Marko sees Charles Leclerc as a serious contender to challenge Max Verstappen. According to the Austrian, the key for Ferrari could very well be qualifying: if Leclerc starts from the first or second row of the grid, it won’t be a good race for Max. The first response will come on Friday after the qualifying session for the Grand Prix.

Do not forget: Pérez and the others

However, we must not forget anyone in this race to victory, of which only Red Bull holds the key this season. If Ferrari is strong, there is no doubt that Carlos Sainz will have a say, just like Sergio Pérez, looking for a weekend to bounce back and get back on track.

Regarding the other teams, it would be naive to overlook Mercedes and Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso is chasing his 33rd victory in F1 and the latest developments on the Mercedes are bringing them closer and closer to Red Bull.

Austria could potentially offer us a tight battle between the leading teams, but nothing is certain yet. Ferrari will have to bring a competitive package in order to hope to compete with Red Bull and also confirm their good performance in Montreal.