Marko points out rival: 'He is even more dangerous now'
F1 News
- Savannah Lenz
Helmut Marko expects much more from Lando Norris as a title contender next season. After the testing days in Bahrain, the Austrian can look back and be reasonably satisfied with the data collected from Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson. Marko explains that it is going to be an exciting season compared to recent years. He sees at least four top teams for the coming season.
When asked about his findings in Bahrain, Marko said, "That it was incredibly cold there and that I now appreciate spring in Graz even more," He responded dryly to oe24 's question. "In terms of sporting, you could see that McLaren is in front. Behind them come us, Ferrari and Mercedes. These four teams will fight for the title. In any case, it will be much more exciting than in recent years," the Red Bull Racing adviser continued.
Similarities to the 2024 F1 season according to Marko?
At the beginning of the 2024 season, Red Bull Racing was the more dominant team. However, they began to decline as teams like McLaren and Ferrari came out stronger. This makes Marko feel as if McLaren, and by extension, Lando Norris, is even more of a competitor for Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen.
The Austrian says that Red Bull has its sights set on one thing, which it failed to achieve with another Red Bull driver.
"We dominated in the early stages," Marko started out. "Then the problems came, but Max was so superior as a driver that he still won the championship convincingly."
"Now Norris will be even more dangerous. It will also be interesting to see what happens at Ferrari. We know that Leclerc is a great qualifying driver and that Hamilton is still capable of extraordinary performances."
Marko concludes, "Our goal is at least the fifth title in a row. With Vettel, we didn't manage that at the time."
This article was written in collaboration with Esteban den Toom.
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