Helmut Marko Mocks McLaren’s Strategy Misstep at Italian Grand Prix: ‘Thank You for Your Sportsmanship

Helmut Marko takes a jab at McLaren over "sportsmanship" during the Italian Grand Prix, saying, "I value that, and it slightly improves our position."

Helmut Marko humorously expressed 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 been at the top of the leaderboard after the Monza race if they had achieved a first and second place finish.

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

This enabled Charles Leclerc to seize the race lead and maintain it using a one-stop strategy.

By securing third place, Norris managed to cut Max Verstappen's advantage 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 the outcome was "disappointing" and went on to ridicule McLaren.

He remarked, "This is not a disappointing outcome at all. We had anticipated this to some extent, and I would like to congratulate Ferrari on their win and express my gratitude to McLaren for their sportsmanlike conduct."

"I’m grateful for that; it slightly improves our circumstances."

Red Bull had a rough weekend as Verstappen managed to secure only the sixth position.

Finishing in sixth place marks his poorest performance on the track since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Due to Red Bull's significant challenges, their position in both championship standings is at risk, especially with the upcoming races in Baku and Singapore, which are not anticipated to be favorable for them.

The positive development for Red Bull is the one-month break before the series of races in America, providing them with essential time to possibly discover solutions that could enable Verstappen to clinch 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 top driver both mentally and in terms of quality.”

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