Senior Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has said that the tensions we’ve seen between Mercedes and Red Bull this year are unsurprising, given the intensity of their battle for the Championship.
Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been locked in a title battle since the 2021 season got underway in Bahrain, while Mercedes and Red Bull have been fighting over top spot in the Constructors’ Championship.
There have been a number of flashpoints over the course of the season, and both team principals – namely Christian Horner and Toto Wolff – have fired jibes at one another.
Mercedes and Red Bull have also questioned the legality of their rival’s 2021 car, with the topic of flexi-wings cropping up at a number of grand prix.
Speaking to the Dutch edition of Motorsport.com, Dr Marko suggested that the Silver Arrows resorted to potentially illegal measures after realising that Red Bull could match their pace this season.
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“When Mercedes saw that we were equal or even faster, they first came up with flexi-wings and then all sorts of other sham arguments,” the Austrian said.
“We took those actions as a very unsportsmanlike gesture and, after that, we also focused on what happens at Mercedes, for example with those wings.
“That all comes with it when the battle is as intense as it is this year and especially when someone is not used to another team being able to offer competition.”
Apparent ‘one-sidedness’
Dr Marko added that Red Bull “felt that there was a certain one-sidedness in the decisions.”
Continuing, he said: “But in the meantime, we have had several discussions with the FIA and also with Liberty, so I would say that it is ‘part of the game’.
“You support your own driver, of course, and yes, by doing so you discredit your opponent to a certain extent.
“But anyway, that’s logical in itself, as long as it stays within limits,” he emphasised.
Heading into the final two rounds of the 2021 season, Verstappen has an eight-point advantage over Hamilton.
Meanwhile, Red Bull trail Mercedes by five points in the Constructors’ Championship.
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