Helmut Marko Takes a Jab at McLaren’s ‘Sportsmanship’ After Italian GP Strategy Misstep

Helmut Marko takes a dig at McLaren over "sportsmanship" at the Italian Grand Prix

“I value that, and it slightly improves our circumstances."

Helmut Marko humorously expressed his gratitude to McLaren for their "sportsmanship" after they lost the chance to win the Italian Grand Prix.

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 following 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 expensive.

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

Norris securing third place resulted in him cutting Max Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ championship by just eight points, bringing the gap to 62 points as they approach the Azerbaijan race.

In an interview with the Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf, Marko rejected the notion that it was a "disappointing result" and then ridiculed McLaren.

"A letdown? Absolutely not," he remarked. "We somewhat anticipated this outcome, and I would like to commend Ferrari on their win and express gratitude to McLaren for their fair play."

"I’m grateful for that, and it improves our circumstances somewhat."

Red Bull had a tough weekend, with Verstappen managing to secure only sixth place.

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

As Red Bull faces significant challenges, their standing in both championships is at risk, especially with upcoming races in Baku and Singapore, where the tracks are not anticipated to favor their performance.

The positive update for Red Bull is that there is a one-month interval before the series of races in the United States, providing them with valuable time to possibly discover strategies that could enable Verstappen to secure his fourth world championship this year.

Marko is optimistic that Verstappen will continue to stand out in 2024.

"He also mentioned that in terms of mental strength and overall quality, Max remains the top driver in the competition."

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