'For God's Sake!' Marko Reacts To Perez Almost Taking Out Verstappen In Miami

Saturday, 11 May 2024 at 18:00

Helmut Marko (Red Bull's motorsport advisor) discussed the first corner incident from the most recent race at Miami International Autodrome.

The 2024 Miami Grand Prix was the second-worst race of the season for the Red Bull Racing F1 team regarding results. However, it wasn't far from being the worst, as Sergio Perez almost caused a collision with his teammate going into turn one on the opening lap of the race.

The Mexican driver, who started from P4, got on the inside into turn 1, went too late on the brakes, and lost grip, meaning he flew into the corner "like a torpedo" (as Carlos Sainz described it).

The 34-year-old driver missed all three cars ahead of him by miracle, but centimeters separated him from taking out his own teammate. Reflecting on the incident, Helmut Marko wrote in his column for Speedweek.com:

"When Pérez nearly caused a crash at the first turn after the start, I thought to myself, 'For God's sake!' It reminded me of Mexico, where Checo also pulled such a maneuver at the first turn."

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During the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, Perez started from P5 and was almost in P1 going into the first corner. He got too excited and went for a risky move around the outside, ultimately resulting in a DNF for him.

Checo can also thank heavens because his chances for retaining a seat in Red Bull might have become significantly smaller had he taken out his teammate. Marko added:

"Thank God it ended well; it would have been a complete disaster if he had taken out Max. That Leclerc didn't have a good start led Checo to take this action."

"Overall, Checo had a good race; his deficit was within acceptable limits. And he was also lucky that Carlos Sainz received a time penalty, which moved him up to fourth place from where he had started. It was impressive how he managed to keep Norris, in the noticeably faster car, behind him."