“I find it negative that Ferrari and Mercedes have remained below expectations” - Red Bull taskmaster on their F1 rivals' underperformance

Dr. Helmut Marko plays a major role at Red Bull Racing. He assesses driver performance and is by far the most feared man in the garage. The Red Bull advisor has given his views on the 2023 Formula One season so far.

He was asked what he considers the most surprising thing about the ongoing season. Marko commented that he found it surprising that the rival teams were underperforming compared to the previous years.

F1 Grand Prix of Miami - Practice

“I find it negative that Ferrari and Mercedes have not lived up to expectations. When moving from 2022 to 2023, they initially made more regression than progress. Because there was little consistency in the competition," he said (via Sportsweek.com).

In 2021 and 2022, the biggest rivals for Red Bull were Mercedes and Ferrari. The 2021 Formula One Championship ended with a huge controversy and Max Verstappen won his maiden Championship.

In 2022, Ferrari was leading the world championship and was the biggest threat to Red Bull. But the Championship turned upside down when Ferrari started to make some bad strategic calls and the drivers started having trouble on the track.

However, in 2023, Red Bull seems to be on another level. No other team is able to catch up with them and their drivers are leading the championship. If this continues, Red Bull, for the first time in their history, will have a 1-2 finish in the championship standings.

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What role does Helmut Marko play in Red Bull Racing?

F1 Grand Prix of Hungary

If you are an avid Formula One fan, you might have noticed Helmut Marko in the Red Bull Racing garage. He is always seen during race weekends with the team and also during team podium celebrations.

Marko has been in the team since 2005. His main role is as an advisor and the head of driver performance. He is one of the most famous personalities in the paddock and some of the great F1 drivers made it into the history books under his guidance.

He is one of the main reasons for Red Bull making mid-season driver switches. The recent and the most abrupt switch was made by him with just one call to team principal Christian Horner. He replaced Nyck de Vries with Daniel Ricciardo just after seeing his performances during the tyre test in Silverstone.