Marko unimpressed with Mercedes 'zero-sidepod' concept

Mercedes' striking 'zero-sidepod' design turned many heads last week in Bahrain, but Red Bull's Helmut Marko says the innovative concept appeared to deliver very little in terms of lap times.

The Brackley squad's prowess of radically slimming the sidepods of its W13 and packing its cooling elements within the lateral structures of its new Silver Arrow was praised by onlookers.

But Mercedes' relatively subdued performance in testing at Sakhir, where its engineers struggled to get on top of their car's wild understeer and porpoising issues, appeared to leave the team with more questions than answers.

George Russell's fifth fastest time overall in last week's test was over a second slower than Max Verstappen best time for Red Bull.

"We looked more at the performance and it wasn’t that impressive," Marko told Austrian daily OE24, referring to Mercedes' W13.

"It looks revolutionary what Mercedes has brought but what matters is the time."

• Read also: Verstappen not convinced by downbeat Mercedes

Although Red Bull's early confidence was upheld by its performance in Bahrain, Marko recalled that last year, Mercedes "was also behind in the test".

"The main thing is that we’re the fastest again," he said. "But we are primarily concerned with our car, and we are doing well there."

And contrary to its Mercedes rival, Red Bull has succeeded in ironing out the porposing quirks of its RB18.

"We also have that under control," he added. "As I said we are completely satisfied with the new car and with all the updates.

"Now I’m just waiting for qualifying on Saturday, when the engine will be revved up and all the cards will be on the table."

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