Helmut Marko, a senior advisor at Red Bull, recently engaged in discussions with Yuki Tsunoda regarding the Bahrain Grand Prix team orders incident, where Tsunoda was instructed to let his teammate Daniel Ricciardo pass.
This conversation turned into a support session for Tsunoda, reflecting on the events of the F1 2024 season opener.
During the race, Tsunoda, who was in P13 on hard tyres, was told to swap positions with Ricciardo, who was on softer tyres.
Tsunoda reluctantly complied but not without displaying visible frustration, which culminated in a near-collision during the cooldown lap.
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Ricciardo criticized Tsunoda’s actions as “immaturity”, while Marko acknowledged the situation could have been handled better but understood Tsunoda’s dissatisfaction, stating that a different strategy might have led Tsunoda to finish in P10 rather than P14.
Despite this hiccup for the RB team, the main Red Bull team enjoyed a successful weekend, with Max Verstappen winning the race from pole position and Sergio Perez securing a second place, marking a strong start to the season.
Marko highlighted the team’s performance and looked forward to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, noting the differences in the Jeddah track and expressing optimism about their car’s potential performance.
Marko’s comments were in light of predictions by Franz Tost, a former team boss, who believes Red Bull could dominate the season even further.
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Marko also shared insights into Verstappen’s performance, particularly his fast lap time, which was significantly quicker than any competitor.
While there were predictions about Red Bull potentially winning all 24 races, Marko remained cautious, referencing the previous season’s challenges, particularly at the Singapore Grand Prix.
He emphasized that the team’s main goal is to secure the World Championship title, and with the promising start in Bahrain, Red Bull and Verstappen appear to be strong contenders for achieving this goal in the F1 2024 season, potentially making Verstappen a four-time World Champion.