Helmut Marko claims advantage for Max Verstappen after pole position defeat to George Russell

Red Bull's Helmut Marko is happy with Max Verstappen starting alongside George Russell in the F1 Canadian GP, as Mercedes struggled in the long runs compared to the Austrian team. The qualifying was interesting because, for the first time this season, Russell broke the Piastri-Verstappen-Norris hegemony on pole position as we had a 4th different driver to set the fastest lap.

The conditions in the F1 Canadian GP are a bit cooler than what the cars are generally used to, and that has brought Mercedes into the mix. The German team's car tends to carry a characteristic of being quite competitive in cooler conditions and falling away a bit with overheated tires in warmer conditions.

George Russell hence made the most of what he had under him to pip Max Verstappen in the dying seconds of the session to secure pole position. The race, however, could be a bit different. For starters, the race would be held a few hours earlier, which means the temperatures would be higher.

This was certainly what Red Bull's Helmut Marko was banking on, as he expected Max Verstappen to have the edge on Sunday in the race. He told Servus TV,

"We can live with second place, especially if you look at the long runs. Mercedes looked considerably worse in terms of tyre wear and last year he [Verstappen] also managed [to win] from P2. It was otherwise quite complicated with the tyre, so we kept both [soft and medium] to watch.”

Commending Red Bull's execution of picking the right tires at the right time, Helmut Marko said,

“The temperature dropped quite significantly in the end. It was a last-minute decision, but we were lucky, if not well-planned, to be able to use both tyre types."

Max Verstappen also credits Red Bull for going with the medium tire for the final run

Max Verstappen also credited Red Bull for making the right calls when it came to tire compounds during the session. The choice between the soft and the hard tire was a crucial one, and the fact that the team nailed it ended up helping the final result. He said,

"I felt quite good all weekend. The car actually was in a good window. You need to quite efficient on the straights, which we are in general, so overall I'm quite happy with qualifying. The car was again working quite well. The tough choice was the tyres, which one to use. But I think we did the right thing [by using the medium]."

Max Verstappen will start the race from P2, just like last season, behind George Russell. The Red Bull driver would be hoping to continue the streak he has at the track where he's won the last three races.