In 2020, Mercedes proved superior in both races held at the Red Bull Ring, but last year Verstappen won both events starting from pole position. Elsewhere, the Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull’s home race, was the scene of the first joint win for Honda and the Austrian team in 2019, in the hands of Max Verstappen.
As for why the energy drink team is so strong in Austria, team adviser Helmut Marko revealed that Honda ‘s “special turbocharger” works very well at high altitude, which is key on a hilly track like the Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring , which is situated more than 600 meters above sea level.
“It’s the engine,” Marko told Servus TV. “And Honda has a special turbocharger, which has a small but decisive advantage with altitude in recent years. And that has also been very important for us. We celebrated our first victory with the Honda engine there.”
“That was quite crucial to the success of our cooperation and will continue to be until 2025, as we can turn to them [for power units].”
Last week’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw Mercedes back in contention with Red Bull and Ferrari, with Britain’s Lewis Hamilton finishing third after a huge late-race battle with Sergio Perez and the Ferrari driver. Charles Leclerc.
However, Marko believes that his bitter rival will have more problems in Styria, due to the nature of the track. “I guess it will be much more difficult for Mercedes,” added Marko. “They have to lift the car. There is no particular problem, they will just be slower.”
“The difficult thing is that there are very fast corners, very tight corners, you have to brake twice at more than 300 km/h, and finding the right set-up between the mechanical aspect and the aerodynamic aspect is crucial.
“But like I said, Max [Verstappen] is a four-time winner here and he’s very motivated for the race. With this many fans here… it gives you goosebumps,” concluded Marko.
