Helmut Marko: Ferrari is clearly number two behind us

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko is trying to become a columnist this year. In a recent column he summarized the results of the Australian Grand Prix, the third stage of the season.

Over the past 24 hours, on the way home from Australia to Europe, I’ve had plenty of time to think about the last time we had a technical problem. It was probably in 2022! We still have to find out what exactly caused the brakes on Max’s car to fail. Currently, most of the team is spread across the world traveling from Melbourne.

Unfortunately, the weekend didn’t start well even during training. We were clearly behind; we had no trace of the superiority we had in the first two races. The fact that Max managed to take pole position and Sergio started sixth can be seen as a fantastic achievement by the team. Max said he could have been at Carlos Sainz’s pace during the race, so I am disappointed and angry about the technical fault.

As far as I know, the team was in a fighting spirit before the meeting. It felt a bit sad afterwards, but at least we are no longer asked whether we can win all the races. I’m glad this issue was resolved so early.

Sergio had a good race. The underside of his car suffered relatively extensive damage from driving over high curbs. Max found out on Friday how treacherous these curbs are. Just to be safe, we removed the engine from his car so Honda could be sure it wasn’t damaged.

We don’t know exactly when the underside of Perez’s car suffered so much damage, as at times he was able to keep up with the leaders, but then the pace dropped sharply due to tire granulation. It is still not clear whether the problems with the tires are due to damage to the ground or to our settings.

The round in Australia showed how quickly the situation in Formula 1 can change. After two dominant races we had to fight hard. In Melbourne the balance of power was confirmed: Ferrari is a clear number two behind us, Mercedes lacks stability and McLaren looks better or worse depending on the track.

Racing bulls

During his excellent qualifying lap, Daniel Ricciardo lost a tenth of a second to Yuki Tsunoda. But an engine change almost ended his race before it started.

Daniel has improved his speed, but Yuki flies at a very high level and without mistakes. Franz Tost and I believed in him; his speed was never in question. Yuki’s problems were a lack of control, a short temper, and a tendency to make mistakes. This season has none of that.

Yuki moved to Europe very young, and it was very difficult for a Japanese person, because our lives are completely different. But now things are going well and Yuki has been noticed on the pilot market.

His seventh place is important for the Racing Bulls. It’s incredibly difficult for the bottom five teams to finish in the points, so I understand Williams’ decision to give Logan Sargent’s car to Alex Albon. Albon is a much stronger driver and one earned point can bring the team to ten million dollars. In that sense, Williams made a logical decision.

Now we look forward to the Japanese Grand Prix, where we must return to the form the team showed in the first two races. As you know, Suzuka is a circuit for real racers, and for the rest Max has to set the bar high.

Yuki waits on the home stage. According to a recent survey, he is the most popular racing driver in the world among young people under the age of 18. It’s something! In Friday’s practice, Ayumu Iwasa will take the wheel, so we will have an all-Japanese line-up. Suzuka should suit the Racing Bulls car.