Marko explains Red Bull's problem: 'The results did not match reality'

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Marko explains Red Bull problem at Monaco GP
29 May at 18:30
  • Nicole Mulder

For Red Bull Racing, the Monaco Grand Prix was a race to quickly forget. For the third weekend in a row, the Austrian team struggled more than usual, resulting this time in a podium without a Red Bull driver. Team advisor Helmut Marko describes exactly where things went wrong for the championship leaders.

First of all, Marko is full of praise for Charles Leclerc, who took his first home win and thus also stood on the podium for the first time in Monaco. "Leclerc was in a class of his own in the principality. The Ferrari was literally floating over the kerbs by the pool, so he was out of reach," said the 81-year-old Austrian in his column for Speedweek.com.

Marko on Red Bull's problems in Monaco

"We had more trouble driving over the kerbs," Marko continued. "That was relatively well adjusted for qualifying and we could assume Max would be on the front row. But when you have a car that is so nervous, even a driver like Max can make a mistake."

Moreover, Verstappen had to compensate for everything in the first sector, the only sector of the Circuit de Monaco where Red Bull was faster than Ferrari. "He did everything to maximise his time in the first sector and he did everything to minimise the time loss in the other sectors," Marko explained.

The Red Bull advisor says the problem started in the simulator. The results did not match reality. "Monaco was not the first circuit where we had this problem. It was first relatively seriously present in Singapore. There, the simulator indicated something that did not match reality. That is the first issue we are going to address," he continued.

"We are optimistic that at least once we can figure out why the simulator produces such data that does not match reality. But Montreal could also be a difficult weekend for us," warns Marko. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where the Canadian Grand Prix will be held, also has a lot of kerbs that the RB20 could potentially struggle with.