Marko dares to be optimistic: 'Everything has to hit the mark right away'

F1 News

Marko optimistic about 2023 with stronger verstappen
3 January 2023 at 09:06
Last update 3 January 2023 at 12:51
  • GPblog.com

Red Bull Racing has entered the 2022/2023 winter break with a reduced wind tunnel time. Team consultant Dr Helmut Marko is not mourning the penalty the team received. The changes to the car will not be major this year and the weapon Max Verstappen will also improve slightly.

So says the Austrian to ServusTV. The Red Bull adviser does not seem worried and says he is already slightly positive about Red Bull's chances in 2023. Red Bull received a penalty in 2022 for breaching the budget cap in 2021. As a result of this violation, Red Bull received a deduction of wind tunnel time. Since the team won the championship in 2022, they were also already awarded the least amount of wind tunnel time out of all 10 F1 teams.

Marko is not worried with Verstappen in the arsenal

Less time in the wind tunnel means less chance to test the 2023 car's new aerodynamic additions and changes. This disadvantage does not seem to hurt Red Bull much, if what Marko says is to be believed. "We are of course stuck with that deduction of wind tunnel time. That means the team has to work very efficiently. Everything we try has to hit the mark straight away. Fortunately, the technical changes for next year are not very big. That means we already have a good basic package."

Even if the reduced wind tunnel time does work out unfavourably for Red Bull, Marko thinks he can brush away the biggest disappointments with Verstappen. Red Bull's weapon, who was faultless last year and drove a record-breaking season, is not yet done learning, according to Marko. Marko: "The team is sticking together and Max is still getting slightly better. That's why I think we can start this season cautiously optimistic already." Marko says the concept of the new car is already ready, but work on the new Red Bull race car will continue until the last moment: "At least we can build on a successful 2022 car."