In Imola Red Bull has won but he did not dominate as expected and this was due to multiple factors. Imola is a particular circuit and Red Bull also paid for the few tests with certain compounds, such as the hard ones due to the problems in the free tests. But the most important thing that emerged from the weekend is the growth of McLaren and Ferrari. The two teams made steps forward with the arrival of the first updates and this led to a top 3 in just 7 seconds. Undoubtedly this leap forward by the two teams has put more pressure on the Austrian team which finally finds itself having competition. Helmut Marko explains what happened to Red Bull in Imola. The super consultant analyzed the race weekend, also anticipating what will be the next challenge in Monte-Carlo in less than a week.
Red Bull suffering at Imola
Qualifying was Red Bull's real lifeline. In fact, seeing the gaps, the impression is that whoever started from Pole would have won the race. And this task fell to Max, who was clever in letting Hulkenberg also follow him. McLaren was more unlucky, because without the Piastri impediment they could have placed both cars ahead of the Ferraris. There are still no answers as to why Ferrari didn't reach Pole or at least the front row. The team has just introduced an update package, the first of the season, slightly behind the competition. But Ferrari is not the only one who needs to understand the answer behind several questions.
Helmut Marko in fact spoke about the problems Verstappen and Red Bull had during the race weekend: “I'm not surprised by the fact that Norris managed to catch up with Verstappen, because already after 2 or 3 laps we saw that the temperatures on the Hard tires were dropping,” declared Marko at the end of the Imola Grand Prix. Max's tires were not in the right window of use. In the end I was worried, because Max was driving without any errors. Fortunately Lando had two or three uncertainties that took him out of the DRS zone in the final laps. Our difficulties do not come directly from Friday. On Friday we were completely far from the ideal set-up and we made some changes. We found a good solution for the medium tyres, in fact we were competitive with those compounds, but we weren't competitive with the Hard ones.”
Little time to evaluate given the proximity to the next race weekend
There is little time for evaluations this time. In fact, the teams are already moving towards Monaco, for the next stage of the championship. If qualifying was important in Imola for placing the majority of teams and drivers in a specific position, in the Principality it will be even more so. The three-way fight between Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari worries Marko who this time sees the Maranello team ahead of the competition.
“We know there will be a fight in Monaco, for sure. AND Monte-Carlo is a track where everything is decided in qualifying. It will probably be one of the most difficult for us also due to the curb issue. But I think the Ferraris will be stronger than the McLarens. Because it's all about qualifications." concluded Marko.
Source statements: Motorsport.com
