'Overjoyed' Marko Already Sees Verstappen On Podium Despite Starting From P11

Saturday, 27 July 2024 at 20:00

Helmut Marko suggested that Max Verstappen could finish on the podium during the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix despite his 10-place grid penalty.

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen obliterated his competition during the wet Saturday qualifying session at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

The triple World Champion topped the timing sheets in all three parts of the session, and in the end, his fastest lap was 0,595 seconds faster than the second fastest driver- Charles Leclerc.

Despite achieving the pole during the 14th round of the season in Belgium, the 26-year-old Red Bull F1 driver will start the race outside the top ten because of the penalty for the new engine that was fitted to his car.

Verstappen has not been as dominant in recent races as we were used to in 2023, so winning the race or achieving the podium should be a great challenge.

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However, Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko already sees the Flying Dutchman on the podium. As reported by motorsport-total, he said:

“"Max was confident in all sessions. We are overjoyed with this starting grid, because surprisingly, the McLarens were not so strong in the rain."”

“"I think we can already set our sights on the podium; I believe we have a good setup. We had the necessary grip for the rain, but we will still have the top speed tomorrow to be able to overtake."”

While Verstappen's prospects of a podium increased after qualifying, Sergio Perez also showed an improved performance. The Mexican driver will start the race from P2, as he qualified in P3. Asked about the Mexican's performance from the qualifying, the 81-year-old Red Bull boss added: