Red Bull Racing’s Helmut Marko is crossing his fingers for rain during the Australian Grand Prix. After enjoying two days of sunshine in Melbourne, the weather’s about to flip. Qualifying day could hit a scorching 35°C, while Sunday looks much cooler with rain almost guaranteed.
It’s a comfortable 25°C as Marko steps out of the Red Bull garage to chat with reporters after the second practice session. Despite things not going smoothly for Max Verstappen‘s team, the 81-year-old Austrian seems surprisingly upbeat. Christian Horner and technical director Pierre Waché share the same positive attitude.
Verstappen himself? Not so much. He barely shows any emotion as he leaves the garage just before Marko—but he makes it crystal clear where his team stands right now.
When asked if Sunday’s predicted rain might help Red Bull, Marko can’t hold back a smile.
“Rain. We all like rain,” he says with a laugh. “Or mainly, Max likes rain. But the qualifying is for sure dry. So you will have a dry setup that makes it even more interesting if it rains.”
Even with a strong chance of a wet race, the team is still focusing their setup for dry qualifying conditions.
There’s a good reason they’re not gambling on a wet-weather setup, according to Marko.
“Maybe you are then starting below fifteenth or something. Max can win from p17, he proved it in Brazil, but it’s not sure here. Melbourne is famous for the weather change and only relying on the weather forecast. That’s too risky.”
The second practice session brought a surprise twist. Red Bull found themselves trailing behind their sister team, Racing Bulls.
Verstappen and Lawson could only manage seventh and 17th place.
Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar from Racing Bulls impressed everyone by grabbing fourth and sixth on the timesheets.
Marko, however, had a straightforward explanation for these unexpected results.
