F1 | Verstappen: “Marko must stay. I'm staying for him too”

Max Verstappen once again. The second qualifying of the season is also in the name of the Hasselt driver who, as in Bahrain, also achieved first position in Saudi Arabia, beating his rivals with a significant advantage, three tenths of a second.

What was most important, however, was not the fantastic pole obtained this afternoon, but rather the case involving Helmut Marko. According to the latest rumors coming from Milton Keynes. the Red Bull super consultant could be about to leave the team after the case involving Christian Horner at the beginning of the year.

Max Verstappen, like Marko, is not a person who skirts around the heart of the matter. In this case he clearly and clearly defended one of the people he considers most important within Red Bull, not only for the team, but also for his permanence. And he certainly made no secret of this. An important element, especially if we consider that Mercedes will certainly not stand by and watch in the event of a further earthquake within the world champion team.

“For me, I have a lot of respect for Helmut. And for what we've accomplished together. You know, it goes a long way. And then, of course, my loyalty to him is very great, and I've always expressed that to everyone at 'within the team, at all the highest levels, that he is an important part in my decision making throughout the future also within the team, so it is very important that he remains within the team, including of course everyone else , because it's a team effort.”

“It's very important to keep the key people together, because I feel that if such an important pillar is missing, this is also what I told the team, it's not good for my situation. So yes, for me Helmut must remain sure. He has built this team together with Dietrich since day one. And he has always been very loyal to the team, to everyone who is part of it, to make sure that everyone maintained their positions from the past.”

“And I think it's also very important, of course, to give this man a lot of respect for what he's done. And that also ties back to loyalty and integrity. So, yes, of course. It's important that he stays on the team, even for me”.

As regards the sporting aspect and the official tests, if in Sakhir the Dutchman was not the holder of the fastest lap ever, given that in Q2 Charles Leclerc had been able to set a faster time, this time there is no they were rivals for Verstappen, who led an absolute protagonist in qualifying, despite starting with one set of softs less than his rivals at the start of the session.

Red Bull had in fact started qualifying with only 4 sets, unlike Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren, who had instead kept one set more in FP3. Verstappen set the best time in all three heats, but opened the gap significantly by setting the record in all three sectors. The big difference, however, was seen in the first half, where he was able to edge Leclerc by about two tenths, while the gap in the other two sectors was more comfortable.

The step forward in the first sector was already seen in the afternoon session, but it was seen even more markedly in the evening, under the spotlights. Verstappen suggested how the changes to the setup made last night had actually allowed us to take a step forward: furthermore, as had already been seen in Bahrain, Red Bull only used more aggressive mappings in qualifying, while others had raised the engine already in free practice.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“It was a great day. We improved the car last night and that gave me a little more confidence to attack in the fast corners. Here it depends a lot on the confidence you have, when you can go to the limit. Today I felt very comfortable with the car, throughout qualifying, it's incredible when you go fast here. In particular, my first lap in Q3 I was very happy, how it went. It almost felt like the turn of 2021! It went very well and the car performed very well,” Verstappen said at the end of qualifying, underlining how he felt completely at ease with the car.

Verstappen also referred to the 2021 lap, the one never completed, but in which he arrived at the last corner with almost half a second ahead of his reference. In that case the Dutchman made the mistake just a few meters from the finish line, but the sensations behind the wheel were the same.

Furthermore, it is interesting to point out that there was less wind today, an aspect that had a negative impact in Bahrain. Verstappen showed the best pace in free practice with the average, but is aware that on a city track like Jeddah anything could potentially happen, with the unknown Safety Car always around the corner.

“As we have seen in the past, there have been many special races here, a lot can happen. You might say it's just a stop, you're going straight to the finish line, but anything can happen here. But I am confident that the car will work very well in the race,” added the Dutchman.