Helmut Marko claims Max Verstappen put up ‘another magical lap’ after time deletion in Q3
Max Verstappen delivers a brilliant lap in Mexican GP qualifying despite early struggles, impressing Helmut Marko with his performance.
Max Verstappen achieved a great result in qualifying for the 2024 Mexican GP. The 27-year-old struggled early on with engine and balance issues but delivered when it mattered most.
He finished second which was even better than his title rival Lando Norris, who looked likely to take pole position. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was not surprised by the performance Verstappen pulled off in qualifying.
Verstappen felt disappointed after a useless Friday but faced a different scenario in qualifying, showing improvement for himself and Red Bull. However, Helmut Marko noted that Verstappen made some mistakes in the third sector.
While he didn’t have a major incident, a minor error cost him valuable time. He struggled in the technical stadium section of the track, which has tight corners that require careful driving and good car balance. Although Max Verstappen extracted everything from his car, he faced challenges in this part.
No, we lost three to four tenths in the third sector and had to get that under control.
The team quickly addressed the error, fixing it before it became a bigger issue during the session. Marko noted that once the issues were fixed, everything looked much better for the world champion.Verstappen’s second lap in Q3 impressed Marko, who described it as magical for its accuracy and speed. Despite having his first lap deleted for track limits, the 27-year-old secured the second-fastest time with a brilliant final lap and secured P2 for the race.
The high altitude and thin air at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit create unique challenges for all the teams. However, Red Bull’s strong package and efficient power unit helped them handle these difficulties better than some of their rivals.Helmut Marko praised the team’s engineers for fine-tuning the RB20 in the right direction, ensuring it performed well within a narrow setup window.
We have to praise the engineers, a big compliment to them. They found the right direction for a car that works in a narrow window . I would also say that the higher temperatures, almost 13 degrees, helped us.
Verstappen’s skill and Red Bull’s power unit played key roles, but the Mexican GP conditions and Red Bull’s strengths ensured strong performance. The Dutchman has a strong front-row start ahead of his title rival Lando Norris. However, stats show McLaren is still faster than Red Bull. Therefore, the reigning world champion will be required to stay sharp while defending against the Brit in the 71-lap race.
Gaurang Kadam is a Formula 1 author at Firstsportz. He discovered his passion for the sport during the Covid-19 pandemic right before the historic battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 title. Gaurang has published hundreds of F1 articles as he channels his passion for the sport. He completed his Bachelor’s in Commerce from Joshi Bedekar College. Apart from the world of racing, Gaurang has loved Football since he was 14 and looks up to Christiano Ronaldo as his idol
