Helmut Marko Jibes McLaren’s ‘Sportsmanship’ After Italian GP Blunder; Red Bull’s Title Hopes Still Alive Despite Setback

Helmut Marko takes a jab at McLaren with a “sportsmanship” comment during the Italian Grand Prix, saying, “I appreciate that, and it slightly improves our position.”

Helmut Marko humorously expressed his gratitude to McLaren for their "sportsmanship" following their loss of the Italian Grand Prix F1 race win.

McLaren is currently trailing Red Bull by only eight points in the Formula 1 constructors’ championship.

The team from Woking might have topped the leaderboard after the Monza race if they had managed to achieve a first and second place finish.

Nonetheless, opting to change Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to a two-stop plan proved to be an expensive choice.

This enabled Charles Leclerc to seize the front position in the race, which he maintained using a one-stop strategy.

By securing third place, Norris managed to cut down Max Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship by just eight points, bringing the gap to 62 points as they head to Azerbaijan.

In an interview with the Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf, Marko refuted claims that it was a "disappointing result" and proceeded to ridicule McLaren.

"Was it a disappointing outcome? Not at all," he stated. "We had somewhat anticipated this and I want to extend my congratulations to Ferrari for their win and express my gratitude to McLaren for their fair play."

“I’m grateful for that; it improves our circumstances somewhat.”

Red Bull had a tough weekend as Verstappen could only secure a sixth-place finish.

Coming in sixth place marks his poorest race result since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Given Red Bull's significant challenges, their position in both championship races is at risk, especially with the upcoming races in Baku and Singapore, which are not anticipated to favor their performance.

Red Bull can breathe a sigh of relief as they have a month-long break before the series of races in the United States, providing them with valuable time to possibly develop strategies for Verstappen to secure his fourth world championship this year.

Marko is still sure that Verstappen will keep being a key player in 2024.

“Max remains the top driver both mentally and in terms of quality,” he stated.

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