Red Bull can still fight for the win in Baku, says Marko
Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team aren’t topping the timesheets yet in Baku, but Helmut Marko remains confident they’re in the hunt for victory this weekend.
“In the long run, we are promising. I think we’re in a position to fight at the front,” Marko said after Friday’s practice sessions.
The team still has work to do before qualifying, though.
“On the qualifying lap, we need to find a tenth, maybe a tenth and a half. But that’s possible with some fine-tuning,” the Austrian consultant explained.
Marko believes Red Bull can prove that their strong performance in Monza wasn’t just a one-off.
“I believe we will be in the top three tomorrow in qualifying. That means we can also fight for the win in the race.”
What’s changed for the team recently? According to Marko, the car is becoming easier to work with.
“The momentum is there, the car has a wider window, and it’s easier to set up. So that is definitely a step forward.”
When asked directly if they can challenge McLaren for the win, Marko was optimistic: “If I look at the long run times, yes. But we still have to find some improvement in qualifying.”
Verstappen, ever the perfectionist, is pushing for more.
“Max is always asking for the maximum and he wants improvement,” said Marko. “He must find something in qualifying but the improvement from FP1 to FP2 was significant.”
## A mixed Friday in Baku
Red Bull didn’t exactly dominate the timesheets on Friday. In the first practice session, Yuki Tsunoda showed good pace with a sixth-place finish, just ahead of Verstappen. Both drivers were about a second off the leaders.
Things got tougher in the second session. Tsunoda dropped to fourteenth while Verstappen managed sixth.
The single-lap pace might be concerning, but their long-run performance looked much better.
This gives the team hope they’ll be stronger when it really counts – in Sunday’s race.
