Helmut Marko points out Red Bull’s “gross error of judgement” as Max Verstappen fumes
"But we completely misjudged it and Mercedes took advantage of that."
Helmut Marko says Red Bull has taken full responsibility for Max Verstappen’s disappointing F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, stating “this is entirely the fault of the team”.
Verstappen could only finish fifth at the Hungaroring on Sunday in what was a very frustrating afternoon for the Red Bull driver.
The Dutchman was stuck behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton on two occasions as Red Bull were undercut.
Red Bull’s slack strategy decisions left Verstappen irate over team radio.
Verstappen didn’t do himself any favours as he misjudged his overtake on Hamilton into Turn 1, resulting in a collision.
The Dutchman got away with it unscathed but dropped down to fifth.
Speaking after the race, Marko conceded Red Bull misjudged how difficult it would be to overtake.
“It is clear that this is entirely the fault of the team,” Marko is quoted as saying to Austrian broadcaster ORF.
“All simulations resulted in a different delta for overtaking manoeuvres. But we completely misjudged it and Mercedes took advantage of that.
“I haven’t met him [Verstappen] yet, but I will soon. We consciously accepted this [the team radio frustration] because we thought we would be faster on newer tyres later. If you know Verstappen, you know this is possible. But it is not necessary on board radio.
“That wasn’t the case and we couldn’t pass Hamilton. That’s our mistake and the position in which Max came back on track after the first pit stop was also our fault. We admit that we made a mistake. It was a gross error of judgement with regard to overtaking.”
Red Bull’s lead in the F1 constructors’ championship has been cut down to just 51 points following McLaren’s 1-2 finish.
Marko admits Red Bull “urgently need” the summer break to regroup.
“We urgently need it,” said Marko in reference to the summer break. “In the first three races we thought we were going to have a similar season to last year, but then suddenly there was the turnaround.
“Max is not used to that and we are also not used enough to the fact that you have to fight hard with competitors. That’s something that makes it better for fans and journalists, of course, but we have to endure that situation and eventually master the situation.
“We’re still in the lead in both championships. There are still a lot of races, so we shouldn’t pretend that everything is lost. But we absolutely cannot afford the small and easy mistakes.”
