Photo: RacePictures

Marko hints Red Bull is willing to give up on pole position for Verstappen

07:32, 06 Dec

Updated: 08:17, 06 Dec

byTobia Elia

Helmut Marko hinted that what will really matter is bringing a car that’s competitive for the race in Abu Dhabi, rather than focusing solely on qualifying performance.

"Whether we are first or second in qualifying is not so important, you can overtake here, but we have to get the car right for the race."

- Helmut Marko

Max Verstappen wrapped up the opening day at Yas Marina just behind championship leader Lando Norris, but he still ended up nearly four tenths adrift over a single lap and showed an average race pace about three tenths slower in the long-run simulations.

Speaking to Sky Germany at the end of the day, Marko stressed that "Max couldn't keep up with Norris' pace. He complained about understeer, and that's something he doesn't like at all."

"Whether we are first or second in qualifying is not so important, you can overtake here, but we have to get the car right for the race."

Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko - Race Pictures

The Austrian, however, didn’t seem particularly concerned about their eventual starting position, noting that overtaking around Abu Dhabi is far easier than it was in Qatar.

Verstappen spots silver linings despite 'decent gap we need to close'

The Dutchman was still almost four tenths off over a single lap, underlining once again just how much Norris comes alive around Yas Marina — and how quickly he’s able to tap into the performance there.

He said he felt “pretty okay” with how the RB21 was behaving, but admitted it’s still not “quick enough” to genuinely challenge McLaren on equal footing, adding that there’s still work to do.

Read his full comments here.

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