I appreciate he was young, but he crashed often, hurting mostly his team and himself, and on top of that threatens or physically assaults other drivers and journalist's rather that reflect on his own actions and improve.Īfter his first few years other drivers openly laughed about having to give him a wide berth, and because he was never a consistent championship contender it didn't matter much, which made Max look better and unfortunately encouraged his behaviour. He's consistently shown he can drive fast, but he is a poor racer as he has no race craft, and is a poor sportsman. Max has no claim to best driver in the world, he's not won a single championship, even in the junior formula's. It's very easy to see that that isn't the case. You're making it seem these things happened just because Mercedes were fastest. Had Pirelli not asked them they would have just left the old rules as they were. Pirelli then asked them to lower the downforce to protect their tires. They weren't even supposed to be introduced, but a pandemic happened that made the FIA chose to delay the new regs of next year. Saying that these new regs were designed to hurt mercedes is just a convenient excuse for a lot of people. What they lost in qualy they gained in the race. Like Wolff said it just allowed them to turn up their engine more in the race. The double diffusers were also banned after a couple of years, so was the blown diffuser, and there are many other examples to choose from.Įngine modes ban even if it was intended to hurt mercedes literally didn't hurt them at all. It's not like because it was mercedes who designed it that they banned DAS, it's because it was a loophole. The FIA has always closed them either directly or after some time. But okay: that is logical in itself, as long as it is but within limits."ĭAS was a loophole in the rules. You support your own driver of course and yes, with that you discredit the opponent to a certain extent. "As long as it is not below the belt, that is also part of it in my view. The latter also applies to the ongoing battle of words between Horner and Wolff, which Marko as Red Bull top advisor can still smile about. But we have now had several conversations with the FIA and also with Liberty, so I would say that it is partly 'part of the game'." "We had the feeling that there was a certain one-sidedness in the decisions. "One time McLaren is pushed forward and then it's Aston Martin again." The game with protests annoyed Marko in the first months, although talks with the responsible authorities have offered some solace. "If it doesn't come from Mercedes itself, then a team that is close to Mercedes will be put forward," he refers to the customer teams. With those words, Marko naturally refers to Mercedes and more specifically Toto Wolff, although he sees a broader strategy with the brand with the star. It's the another team that can offer a competition."
That all adds up when the battle is as intense as this year and especially if someone is not used to it. "We took those actions as a very unsportsmanlike gesture and then also concentrated on what happens at Mercedes, for example with those wings. Marko considers it only logical that Red Bull also asked questions about the wings and the engine of Mercedes afterwards. "When Mercedes saw that we were equal or even faster, they first came up with flexi wings and then with all kinds of other false arguments," Marko recalls during an extensive interview with Netherlands. For example, Mercedes complained about Red Bull's sagging rear wing in the first phase of the season and the same happened at the energy drink brand's fast pit stops. Although that is still quite harmless, behind the scenes more serious attempts have also been made to put the competitor a heel. Whereas Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton compete against each other on the asphalt, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff also fight verbally.
The 2021 Formula 1 season has turned into an intense battle between Mercedes and Red Bull on and off the track. After those conversations, Marko can call the political joust a little more "part of the game". The Austrian felt disadvantaged in the saga about flexi wings in Baku and in the haggling about pit stops. Helmut Marko has had multiple talks with the FIA and Liberty Media during this Formula 1 season about "unilateral decisions" in favor of Mercedes. Looking for the Daily Discussion thread ? Menuĭriver of the Day: Firstname Lastname 2022 Car Launches Date
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