F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Marko reckons Perez is 'just as fast' as Verstappen

Red Bull motorsports consultant Dr Helmut Marko believes that Sergio Perez proved himself every bit as quick as his team mate Max Verstappen in Bahrain, despite a problematic first outing for the Mexican with the squad.

Perez missed the cut at the end of the second round of qualifying for the season opener and was set to line up in a disappointing 11th place on the grid.

However a mysterious engine cut-out resulting from "a small electrical fault" on the formation lap forced him to start from pit lane instead.

"All of a sudden the car shut down and I was so close to jumping out" Perez recalled afterwards. "But I stayed in and somehow the car got going again which was a miracle really."

“The problems we had were mainly related to the software,” Marko told Formel1.de in a video interview. “Perez’ battery was changed at the last minute, that's probably the reason why he suddenly lost power.

“He was sensational. He took off his steering wheel and carried out all the emergency scenarios coolly and suddenly the power came back," he continued, adding that there would be no lasting problems with the engine components.

Despite all the setbacks Perez was able to fight his way back to fifth by the chequered flag, earning him further praise from the notoriously hard-to-please Marko.

“It was the first race of the year, so it was mainly getting used to it for him,” Marko told Austrian broadcaster RTL. “When Perez had free air he was just as fast as Verstappen.”

"Hats off to Sergio," commented Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. "[It] was a great comeback drive for him, especially after starting in the pit lane.

"He kept a cool calm head after the issue on the formation lap and was able to deliver a strong points haul."

Marko also accepted that the early exit from qualifying the day before had been the result of a team error in calling tyre strategy.

The Red Bull strategists had thought it would be possible to get him through to the final top ten pole shoot-out round on the medium compound rather than the softer option, only for him to fall short.

"We should have put him on the soft tyre in the second session, that was our mistake," Marko acknowledged.

"If Perez had started from fourth or fifth on the medium tyre he could have given Valtteri Bottas a hard time," he explained.

“Had he started on the soft tyre, he would probably have lost so much time on pit-stop strategy that an attack on the Mercedes driver would be difficult.”

Perez himself backed the team's decision to send him back out on medium tyres for his final Q2 run. "We were absolutely right to use the medium tyres in Q2 but unfortunately it just didn't pay off and I didn't deliver the lap I should have.

"Of course it is a shame that Max didn't win the race for the team, but it will come I'm sure and we will get there."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Marko: ‘No chance at all’ for Red Bull in Las Vegas

Helmut Marko believes that Red Bull and Max Verstappen are unlikely to challenge for victory…

5 hours ago

GM revives bid to join F1 with accelerated talks for 2026 entry

Automotive giant General Motors is reportedly back in the game as a potential entrant in…

6 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Thursday's action in pictures

The opening day of running at the Las Vegas GP was a smooth but chilly…

8 hours ago

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

9 hours ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

10 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

11 hours ago