Marko cranks up pressure on Pérez: "He should be able to manage the qualifying in Austria"

Helmut Marko has stated that Sergio Pérez needs to finally get qualifying right during the home race in Austria. He refers to the series of three consecutive weekends in which the Mexican driver failed to make it to Q3. The Austrian also mentions that the sprint race format will make things a bit more challenging, but the team has learned valuable lessons from the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.

While Max Verstappen is performing well with consecutive victories in Miami, Monaco, Barcelona and Montreal, Pérez has experienced some setbacks. The Mexican driver has seen his deficit in the World Championship grow and only managed a sixth-place finish in Canada, although he did secure the point for the fastest lap at the very last moment. "But that was to be expected with the soft tires he got at the end and, of course, a light car," Marko responds on Servus TV. "Pérez did extract the maximum from his car last Sunday though," the Austrian thinks.

"He started on hard tires, but that strategy didn't work well because we couldn't get the tires up to temperature. We had hoped that he could gain some ground in the beginning with hard tires, and then attack in the final stages with mediums. That didn't work out, but overall, I'm reasonably satisfied," Marko continues. It's clear that Pérez will need to up his game during Red Bull's home race weekend in Austria. "In Austria, he needs to finally get qualifying right," says the 80-year-old, referring to the fact that the Mexican driver has had three consecutive poor qualifying sessions, as well as three disappointing races in a row.

Sprint race will once again pose a challenge: "Everything must be executed flawlessly from the start"

So, the expectations for Verstappen's teammate are high, especially in a weekend with a sprint race. The drivers are limited in their practice time in this format. "Sprint races always bring uncertainty. Last year, we were caught off-guard in Austria. We won the sprint race, but Leclerc came very close in the final laps. We underestimated that back then. During the race, our tires became too hot," Marko notes, referring to Charles Leclerc's victory and Carlos Sainz nearly challenging Verstappen had it not been for his Ferrari engine catching fire. "When you have only one practice session, everything must be executed flawlessly from the start. We learned from it, but in Brazil, it went wrong for us again. Our setup for the sprint race was also incorrect," reflects the Austrian.

The major disadvantage is that teams are not allowed to make changes to the setup after Friday's qualifying session. A good balance must be found immediately in the first practice session. Several drivers advocate for changing the Parc Fermé rules during sprint race weekends, but so far, that hasn't happened - despite the new format with two qualifying sessions. Nevertheless, Marko has high hopes for the upcoming sprint race weekend in Spielberg. "I think this year we have a car that is easier to set up. Furthermore, I believe Max has the most victories in Austria. That combination should normally make us strong," says Marko.