Helmut Marko believes that Red Bull still has “a few tenths” hidden that will come when the car reaches the minimum weight. The RB18 is currently 5kg over the regulatory limit, and the team’s goal is to reach 798kg as soon as possible.
“It’s a process that takes time,” Marko explained to Motorsport.com. “Let’s say the positive is that we will gain a few tenths when we meet this target. We are five kilos short, so it is not such a wrong assumption.”
“I think that Ferrari is already at the (weight) limit, while Mercedes should be more or less in our situation. And speaking of Mercedes , we have seen that from time to time it is capable of putting in incredibly fast laps, both in practice and in the race, and he also does it with both drivers”.
“They still can’t do it consistently, so it’s hard to understand where that performance is coming from, and talking to knowledgeable people, it came out that they probably don’t even know within the team.
“What worries us is that the potential seems to be there, so once they manage to keep it consistent, they will be there to fight for the win,” said Marko .
Max Verstappen, al volante del Red Bull Racing RB18
On the other hand, Red Bull ‘s main adviser did not want to rule out further upgrades for the RB18 in the coming races, despite rumors of a problem with the budget cap.
“I don’t think in Monte Carlo we saw the true potential of Max Verstappen and his car. He was constantly having problems at Turn 1, and when he finally managed to do it the way he wanted in qualifying, there was a red flag.
“I think he would not have been able to get to Charles Leclerc, but he would have been in the front row, so the margin we saw is not really representative of the real values.”
“We have seen, and will see again, circuits where we are stronger and circuits where Ferrari will be better, but thank God, on two tracks where Ferrari confirmed they had the strongest car, Barcelona and Monte Carlo, We were able to win thanks to certain circumstances.”
“Now we are looking optimistically at Baku and Montreal, where very long straights await us where our higher top speed will come into play. I don’t think there will be any big differences, but it will be essential to find the right set-up, as well as to manage the tires will also be key”, concluded Marko .
