Marko harsh on Pérez: "He believed he could win championship, but reality is hitting hard"

Red Bull Racing team advisor Helmut Marko believes Sergio Pérez is focused on the wrong things. The 80-year-old Austrian observes that Pérez has been making more mistakes since he started believing in the championship title and thinks that the Mexican driver has had a significant wake-up call. While Marko is confident in Verstappen's victory, he doubts whether Pérez can still reach the podium.

Verstappen has been in an almost unbeatable form in recent weekends. In Miami, the Dutchman won from a ninth-place starting position, and last week the world champion impressed with a fantastic performance in the streets of Monaco. "Max is in top form," Marko also acknowledges. "You can see how effortless it all is for him, there are no corrections, nothing. It will be very difficult to beat him tomorrow," Marko shared in an interview with Sky Sports F1.

On the other side of the garage, things are not going smoothly. Pérez had a good start to the season but has now failed to make it to the final qualifying session for the third time in five races due to his own mistakes. "Things haven't been going well for Sergio (Pérez) since Monte Carlo. I was afraid he would get stuck in the gravel, but luckily he was able to continue. Unfortunately, he still couldn't make it to Q3. He needs to focus on racing, not the title. Hopefully, he can bounce back. Throughout the weekend, he has been three to five tenths slower," Marko expressed concern.

World championship dream remains a dream

De Vries previously got a yellow card from Marko, after experiencing a difficult start to the season. "That is a different situation," Marko said regarding Pérez. The Mexican driver expressed his ambition to become a world champion in the winter and started to believe in it more and more after a good start to the season, but little of that will remain now. "He (Pérez, ed.) believed in his dream of becoming a world champion. Reality is now hitting Checo hard, but I'm sure he will recover."

According to Marko, it won't be easy for Pérez to make his way forward. "I think aiming for the podium is optimistic," Marko fears. "If it gets hot, tire wear will be higher, so a three-stop strategy is possible. If that's the case, then hopefully he can overtake some cars and finish third, but it will be tough." Marko doesn't expect Pérez to have a comeback race like the one Verstappen had in Miami.

The Austrian is also surprised that the competition is far behind Verstappen. "I think we had a very good car last year and we have further developed it. We were surprised that our rivals haven't been able to close the gap further. I keep hearing talk of new upgrades and more upgrades, but I don't see any of that on the stopwatch. I think we are doing well, but our rivals... Not so much."

Verstappen the outspoken favorite after his pole position! If you play responsibly, you'll keep it fun. What does gambling cost you? Stop in time, 18+