Helmut Marko minimized Checo Pérez at Red Bull: “We have a number one driver”

Sergio Pérez's extraordinary performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where he won a historic pole position above Max Verstappen, was not enough to convince the eyes of Red Bull Racing's sports adviser, who still sees him as the second driver of the team.

This is Helmut Marko, one of the strongest personalities that the team has in the media level and who is characterized by being very tough in his statements, especially when it comes to criticizing the drivers, since no one is saved from the direct in his words.

This time he again “scratched” Checo Pérez during an interview for a program on the Austrian channel Servus TV, where he made it clear that the Mexican is the second driver for the team and that he is below Max Verstappen.

It was during a comparison with the Ferrari drivers that the statements were made, as he mentioned that Charles Leclerc “clearly” looks like the main driver of the Italians over Carlos Sainz, in a situation as evident as the one they have at Red Bull.

“Unfortunately Carlos Sainz won't be what we expected when last year he beat Leclerc. Now Leclerc is in better shape, so we don't expect any help from Sainz,” Marko said in the first instance, and then sentence with his reference to Red Bull.

Due to the multimillion-dollar contract that Verstappen was offered at the beginning of the season and because he is the current world champion, it was understood that the number one driver of Red Bull is the 24-year-old Dutchman, above Checo, who is just beginning his second year in the Austrian team.

Under the same tenor he compared what happens in the Mercedes team, where despite the good initial results of George Russell, he clarified that there is no way he will lead to the level of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

These words are given around their projection for the rest of the season, where they hope to compete inch by inch with Ferrari, with the possibility that Mercedes will wake up at some point during the year and join the dispute for victories.

Helmut Marko's indirect attack on Checo is not the first, because throughout his first year he lashed out at him in different ways, with the aim of putting pressure on him and extracting the best possible results, until he finally praised his performance dressed in the energy drink overalls.

The last strong clash with Perez through statements came within hours of the start of qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP, although that occasion concerned the country where it came from and the alleged similarity of danger with the alleged attacks that took place in Jeddah.

Because a few kilometers from the circuit there was a drone attack on an Aramco plant, which caused a strong fire visible from the vicinity of Formula 1, the Red Bull adviser hinted that Checo should not be worried, since it is not so different from what is experienced in Mexico.

“Max is a little more relaxed about it (about the attack), Perez is a little scared, but if you live in Mexico City... It's no less dangerous either,” Marko said for Sky Sports, in another of his several controversial statements.

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