Marco: I think the stewards’ reaction was exaggerated

In his traditional column for Speedweek, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko recalled that he had reasons to celebrate during the American weekend in Austin, but that the Mexican leg of the championship brought nothing but frustration.

When we talk about our competitiveness, Red Bull Racing made progress in Texas, but unfortunately we were not as fast in Mexico City. Although in the US both Ferrari cars were much faster than us, at least we could fight with Lando Norris. Everyone knows that it all ended with a fine for the McLaren driver.

For Max Verstappen, the weekend in Mexico City did not go well from the start: leaks were discovered in the engine intake duct on Friday. As a result, he missed both practice sessions, which partly explains why we weren’t competitive in Sunday’s race, especially on the hard tyres. We were only fifth, behind the Ferrari and McLaren drivers.

The pace on Medium tires was still more or less acceptable, but the tires of both compounds wore out more on our cars than on our rivals.

But the pace also left a lot to be desired, because due to the problem mentioned above, the engine of Max’s RB20 had to be replaced and he was given another engine whose lifespan was almost up, and we did not intend to use it at all during the racing.

This was one of the reasons why we were so slow on the straights. Once a Formula 1 engine has traveled a certain number of kilometers, the loss of efficiency becomes clearly visible.

We are currently investigating whether it is possible to continue using the engine in which the fault was detected. But he already has quite a few kilometers, and all this means that in Brazil we will inevitably have to replace the engine, and this will be followed by a fine.

The duel on the Mexico City circuit between Verstappen and Norris sparked many discussions, as did the harsh judgment of the stewards, who gave Max two ten-second time penalties. From my point of view, these fines have to be seen in the context of the overall situation, because after the American Grand Prix there was also a lot of talk about the judges’ decisions. I think the stewards’ reaction was exaggerated.

The ten second penalty they gave after Max and Lando’s first fight was clearly excessive. In the second episode, Verstappen acted too aggressively and in this case the punishment corresponded to the violation.

Sergio Perez’s Mexican weekend was clearly not a success. We know that qualifying is his weak point, but if he drops out in the first qualifying session there is no point.

Even more frustrating is that such an experienced professional positioned the car incorrectly in the starting position. It’s even more disappointing that he had a great start! But for his violation he received a 5 second penalty.

Then there was a duel with Lawson, in which both riders showed clear intemperance, and Liam even made an obscene gesture to his opponent, although he later apologized, and we took note of this.

Unfortunately, during that battle, Perez’s car suffered significant damage, downforce decreased significantly, speed dropped and Sergio was unable to do anything.

During the US and Mexico City Grand Prix it became clear that our penalty system is somehow non-linear. For example, last Sunday there was another incident between Perez and Stroll, and I am surprised that no one was punished then.

Speaking of Racing Bulls: Yuki Tsunoda had two accidents: first his car spun during qualifying and on Sunday, shortly after the start, he collided with Alex Albon’s Williams.

When Tsunoda left, he made a maneuver that could have been successful, and then everyone would have considered Yuki a hero. He almost drove in front of Albon’s car, but then Alex shifted to the left towards Yuki, because he had to react to the actions of Gasly, who was driving on his right.

After an excellent start, Yuki was able to immediately gain back five places, but unfortunately it all ended in an accident. I wouldn’t blame him though.

However, a crash in the second part of qualifying was doubly offensive, as he subsequently ruined the lap not only for himself, but also for Lawson. I think Yuki feels pressure from Liam – I have no other explanation.

In the US, Lawson recovered strongly to finish 9th, but I was also impressed with the way he steadily improved in Mexico City. If his final lap had not been interrupted due to Tsunoda’s departure, the New Zealander could have started from the top five in qualifying. However, Liam still shows his best qualities and justifies the trust placed in him.