Helmut Marko has revealed he bet Gianpiero Lambiase Max Verstappen
would be leading the Mexico City Grand Prix from third on the grid
into Turn 1. After being out-qualified by both Ferraris, Verstappen
had a superior launch and cut between Charles Leclerc and Carlos
Sainz to grab the inside line for the Turn 1 braking zone after the
811m charge. Verstappen had issues with starts earlier in the
season, and worked with his team including race engineer Lambiase
to eradicate the weakness – but despite this, Marko was still
confident the three-time World Champion would be leading after Turn
1 – where Leclerc collided with Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio
Perez. Marko’s Lambiase Verstappen bet “I bet with Gianpiero that
Max would be first into the first corner, and I won!” Marko told De
Telegraaf. “His start was a masterpiece, and thanks to it, he was
immediately able to set his own pace and control the race as usual.
“Without the red flag, I think our dominance would have been even
greater.” When Verstappen was presented with Marko’s comments, the
51-time Grand Prix winner explained how he had been working to
become ‘sharper’ on starts after an issue earlier in the season.
“It’s just doing our procedures a bit better, understanding the
tyre grip, and the clutch settings,” he told media including
RacingNews365. “I think we just have been probably a bit more sharp
on that, at the beginning of the year, we had a bit of an issue but
then we fixed the issue but then we still didn’t do the right thing
with tyre temperature and clutch setting. “It’s all very sensitive,
if you [don’t get it right] you might have too much wheelspin or
not enough engagement [of the clutch]. “It’s very difficult to get
right and [but for the start in Mexico] especially it was very
good.”
would be leading the Mexico City Grand Prix from third on the grid
into Turn 1. After being out-qualified by both Ferraris, Verstappen
had a superior launch and cut between Charles Leclerc and Carlos
Sainz to grab the inside line for the Turn 1 braking zone after the
811m charge. Verstappen had issues with starts earlier in the
season, and worked with his team including race engineer Lambiase
to eradicate the weakness – but despite this, Marko was still
confident the three-time World Champion would be leading after Turn
1 – where Leclerc collided with Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio
Perez. Marko’s Lambiase Verstappen bet “I bet with Gianpiero that
Max would be first into the first corner, and I won!” Marko told De
Telegraaf. “His start was a masterpiece, and thanks to it, he was
immediately able to set his own pace and control the race as usual.
“Without the red flag, I think our dominance would have been even
greater.” When Verstappen was presented with Marko’s comments, the
51-time Grand Prix winner explained how he had been working to
become ‘sharper’ on starts after an issue earlier in the season.
“It’s just doing our procedures a bit better, understanding the
tyre grip, and the clutch settings,” he told media including
RacingNews365. “I think we just have been probably a bit more sharp
on that, at the beginning of the year, we had a bit of an issue but
then we fixed the issue but then we still didn’t do the right thing
with tyre temperature and clutch setting. “It’s all very sensitive,
if you [don’t get it right] you might have too much wheelspin or
not enough engagement [of the clutch]. “It’s very difficult to get
right and [but for the start in Mexico] especially it was very
good.”