Marko 'More Than Satisfied' After Norris Penalty And 5 Point Gain
F1Tuesday, 22 October 2024 at 18:00
Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko suggested his team was "more than satisfied" following the result of the 19th round of the 2024 season in Austin.
Max Verstappen finished the 2024 United States Grand Prix on the podium (in P3) after gaining a position because of Lando Norris's penalty.
The McLaren driver initially finished ahead of him. However, the stewards ruled that the 24-year-old gained his position off-track, which is strictly forbidden regardless of whether he was pushed out or not.
Norris clearly had more pace than Verstappen in the race, so when Helmut Marko was speaking to Servus TV after the Grand Prix, he asserted P3 was more than Red Bull could have hoped for.
"We did not have the speed of the sprint race. Ferrari drove an incredible pace, but for us, Lando was, of course, the deciding factor. I think the penalty was justified, and we gained five points. We are more than satisfied."
Max Verstappen came into the weekend with a 52-point lead over Norris and leaves with a 57-point lead after gaining two points in the Sprint race and three points in the Grand Prix. What might be a bit of a concern for Red Bull now is the pace that Ferrari suddenly showed.
Scuderia Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz scored a one-two. The Monegasque, who finished in P1, crossed the finish line 19.412 seconds ahead of Verstappen. Marko continued:
"I believe with Ferrari it's very much down to the circuit. I hope they don't continue like this, but the lead over Leclerc is big enough."
The battle between Verstappen and Norris, however, overshadowed the incredible performance of Ferrari a bit. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown weren't happy with the stewards' decision, but Marko told Sky Sports Germany:
"There are more and more rules. Of course we were in our right, he overtook outside the track. It was a shame because it was a really great duel and especially Max was incredibly good."
"He kept him behind for so many laps. Only Max can do that because his front tires were already relatively close to the end."
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