Horner: I know that Helmut Marko regrets his words

The best Red Bull Racing driver during the first training in Singapore was Max Verstappen, while Sergio Perez was only 7th according to protocol. After the session, team leader Christian Horner commented on the results and also addressed a number of other important topics related to Red Bull.

Christian Horner: “This circuit is one of the most difficult for us during the season. Its characteristics do not allow the merits of our car to fully manifest themselves, so we must act very correctly to continue the series of successful races.

As far as we can tell, the Ferraris are fast here, and it looks like McLaren and Mercedes are too, so results could be very close this weekend. The most important thing now is to adjust the balance of the car to changes in track conditions. These are improving very quickly, so the drivers have to adapt to that. Marina Bay is not a stationary circuit, so the tarmac surface is quite dirty, but changes for the better are coming quickly.

So far we have checked how hard and soft tires work, and in the next session we will continue to follow our program.

When we talk about the new circuit configuration, which has fewer corners, I have not heard any negative feedback from our riders. Overall, it seems that these changes fit seamlessly into the city ring and also create additional overtaking opportunities.”

Horner was also asked which drivers from the Red Bull youth program they were going to give the opportunity to drive the RB19 in practice.

“It is clear that we have several suitable candidates in this program, but there are also other riders working with us,” he replied. “For example, this is Jake Dennis, the Formula E champion, who is actively working on our simulator, and this weekend we have Isaac Hajjar with us, who serves as one of the reserve drivers. So there are several options, but we still have time to decide which driver will sit behind the wheel of our car.”

Of course, during an interview with Sky Sports, Horner had to comment on the unpleasant situation Helmut Marko found himself in. Red Bull’s motorsport advisor has already had to apologize to Sergio Perez for his statements, but the team has not yet officially responded.

“First of all, these comments were incorrect. Hellmuth quickly realized this and apologized – both publicly and personally to Sergio. I think a person continues to learn even if he is over 80,” said Horner. “We take this situation very seriously and responsibly, but Helmut Marko is not an employee of Red Bull Racing. That is why the team has not made any statements.

Formally, he is an employee of the entire Red Bull group of companies, and she made such a statement on the channel ServusTV. And I know that Helmut regrets what he said, so I can only repeat: it is not too late to study, even at the age of 80. Of course, we also contacted Formula 1 management last week, but this situation has more to do with them and not with the team.”