Helmut Marko, Red Bull F1 Motorsport Advisor, said the victory in Monaco and the double podium were “gifts from Ferrari.”
Charles Leclerc appeared to be racing for his first victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. Teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., five seconds behind, acted as a buffer for Red Bull Racing drivers.
And it all changed in the space of three laps.
Ferrari had Charles Leclerc pitted in to replace the intermediate tires and then replaced them with slick tires three laps later.
It presented Sergio Perez not only on the podium, but also on victory. Sergio Perez undercut Charles Leclerc six laps earlier with an intermediate and succeeded in overcutting Carlos Sainz after changing to hard tires on the next three laps.
Sergio Perez held it up to the checkered flag in the last 15 laps, despite heavy pressure from Carlos Sainz.
Max Verstappen also came in third and Red Bull Racing took the double podium. Helmut Marko was pleased with the team’s double podium in a race where Ferrari seemed to finish 1-2.
“It’s not possible to determine how they did it internally,” Helmut Marko told Sky Germany about Ferrari’s blunder.
“We were happy to receive what was offered.”
Helmut Marko praises Red Bull Racing’s strategy. The team remained calm despite the difficult decisions.
“The decisive factor was strategy,” said Helmut Marko.
“Even though other teams had already set up the fastest lap in the middle, the decisive factor was to stay calm and stay out.”
Helmut Marko added that he was “especially” proud of Red Bull’s chief strategist, Hanna Schmitz.
Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing’s F1 team representative, also told the BBC that he believed Charles Leclerc would be the winner.
“Early Charles seemed to be in control of things, and behind him was a buffer of his teammates,” said Christian Horner.
“At that point, Ferrari seemed to have the race in the bag.”
“I thought I might get one of them, but I didn’t think I could get both, and obviously we took advantage of their mistakes.”
“It’s a process, but it requires effective and clear communication. As a pit wall, we got all the information and used it well.”
“We were discussing whether to switch from extreme tires to slick tires, as Lewis (Hamilton, who won in 2016) did, but it’s faster across the inter and the power of the outlap is very high. Judging it was big. The Czech Republic made it completely successful. “
“I’ve always been proud to be an aggressive racing team and have always focused on doing the basics well. It’s about making quick decisions, whether it’s a strategy or a pit stop. Today it’s all. We made a quick decision and responded to the situation we were facing. ”
Category: Category: F1 / Red bull / F1 Monaco GP
