F1
Helmut Marko Mocks McLaren’s ‘Sportsmanship’ as Strategy Fumble Costs Italian GP Victory
Helmut Marko takes a jab at McLaren's sense of "sportsmanship" during the Italian Grand Prix, saying, “I value that, and it somewhat improves our scenario.”
Helmut Marko humorously expressed his gratitude to McLaren for their "sportsmanship" after they lost the chance to win the Italian Grand Prix F1 race.
McLaren is currently trailing Red Bull by only eight points in the Formula 1 constructors' championship.
The Woking team might have topped the leaderboard after the Monza race if they had achieved a first and second place finish.
Nonetheless, opting for a two-stop strategy for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris proved to be an expensive mistake.
This enabled Charles Leclerc to seize the front position in the race, which he maintained using a one-stop strategy.
Norris securing third place resulted in reducing 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 rejected claims that it was a "disappointing outcome" and then ridiculed McLaren.
"No, this wasn't a disappointing outcome at all," he remarked. "We had anticipated this to some extent, 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 situation somewhat."
Red Bull had a tough weekend, with Verstappen managing to secure only a sixth-place finish.
His sixth-place finish is his poorest performance on the track since the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in 2022.
As Red Bull faces significant challenges, their position in both championships is at risk, especially with the upcoming races in Baku and Singapore, which are anticipated to be unfavorable for them.
The positive development for Red Bull is that they have a month-long break before the series of races in America, providing them with valuable time to possibly discover solutions that could enable Verstappen to secure his fourth world championship this year.
Marko is still sure that Verstappen will keep being a game-changer in 2024.
"He added that Max remains the most mentally and qualitatively strong driver in the field."
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