Marko denies Verstappen crash is to do with high pressure
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- GPblog.com
Helmut Marko contradicts that the crash of Max Verstappen resulted from the pressure that the world championship puts on the shoulders of the Dutchman. The 78-year-old Graz-based top man also addresses the question of why Verstappen ultimately did not get the requested slipstream in the closing stages of the final qualifying session Saturday night.
Marko is asked by Motorsport-Magazin.com asked if Verstappen's crash was because of the pressure of the fight for the world championship. The Austrian then answers firmly, "No, he was just so pumped up with adrenaline because he set insane times in sector 1 and sector 2 and also in the third sector he was ahead again [of Hamilton's sector time]."
The Red Bull Racing advisor continued: "Max was making up time in every sector and it was a detail. The front-wheel blocked and because of that he couldn't turn in." It turned out to be an expensive mistake on the part of the Limburger, as more than a third-place proved out of the question as a result.
No slipstream for Verstappen
After his first run in Q3, already good for the first time, Verstappen told race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase that he wanted a slipstream on the straight. In the end, the Red Bull driver did not get it during his second flying lap. "Yes, he was so keen on it," Marko says of wanting to capture that pole position. "But as we saw, he didn't need it."