F1 | Marko: “Ridiculous, the driver market has already exploded. Audi is putting pressure on”

After the setback in Australia, Red Bull returned to score a double, the third in 4 races held this year, at the Japanese Grand Prix. The leadership in the two World Championship rankings is not in question, but in the Milton Keynes team there are several topics of discussion regarding the future. One of these is linked to the drivers market and who will have to support Max Verstappen from next season.

Helmut Marko took stock of the situation in this sense. The team consultant based in Milton Keynes, speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, continued to state that Red Bull will still take some time before deciding on the name of its second driver, although there are teams – or manufacturers , like Audi – which are shaking up the market.

“The Drivers' market for next season exploded in April… Usually no one talks in April. It's ridiculous, but we won't play this game. We'll wait and see and, only then, we'll make the best choice for us. I know what's going on.”

“I've heard that Audi is pushing in the market, but it's a bit strange that a newcomer is pushing in the Drivers' Market. Red Bull will wait until it has a clear picture of what's best for it.”

Red Bull knows it has the upper hand and bargaining power, being able to offer a winning car and team. Furthermore, he is enjoying the best Sergio Perez since he raced for Milton Keynes: fast, concrete enough to often get second place, without overshadowing Max Verstappen's star.

“Checo now thinks: 'I just have to be as good as possible in this car'. His mentality has changed,” Marko continued of the Mexican driver. “You can also see it in these first races: he achieved second places, in one race he had some problems, but also in qualifying he was very close to Max. He is much closer than last year. It was important because the His race here last year was a disaster. So he went much better.”

“Now Checo is following Max's set-up and that is the set-up that works best on the RB20. And this is what matters most. You can't beat Max with a different set-up. You still can't beat Max, so the point is this and there is no story.”

Helmut Marko, consultant, Red Bull Racing, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

Another valid option for the future has, at least to date, the name and surname of Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese, tenth in Suzuka after a good race, is making constant improvement, which is evident and also appreciated by Red Bull. The race sample to be evaluated, however, is still too low: other races of this level will be needed to convince the team leaders to prefer him to others, but the path taken is the right one.

“For now, only 4 races have been held. Tsunoda has certainly improved a lot. He had his best season and has already reached Q3 3 times. He no longer makes mistakes and in Suzuka his overtakings were incredible. In front of all his fans he remained very calm, didn't do anything stupid and was fast. Let's see how he continues”, concluded Marko.