Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko reckons Lewis Hamilton might have taken Sergio Perez out after the restart if the latter had had a better start.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw a wild and chaotic ending, capped off by Perez winning the thriller. The race had a restart, and Perez had a shaky start in it. But what transpired seconds after it made it look like a blessing in disguise. If Perez hadn’t had so much wheelspin, Hamilton might have taken Perez with him off-track.
Hamilton has initially made the better start and getaway. However, he made a crucial mistake and flicked a wrong button. This caused him to lose control of his brakes, and slide straight on and onto the escape road. As such, Marko thinks if Perez had achieved a better start, two drivers would have gone into the escape road.
In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Marko expressed his thankfulness, saying, “Thank goodness Perez had spinning wheels when he restarted.
“If he had got away better, Hamilton would have cleared him with him. Blessing in disguise.”
New blood delivers
Marko also took the opportunity to heap praise on the Mexican, who won his first race with Red Bull. After his struggles initially, this was a statement from Checo, Rightfully, Marko was fully on board the Perez hype train.
“He was always at the front. But that was already the case in Monte Carlo. As soon as he had free travel there, he set fast or even faster lap times than Verstappen. This also made the overcut possible,” he explained.
“Above all, he integrates very well in the team. He’s a very good team player,” he concluded.
Red Bull had only Verstappen in form for the longest time. With Perez in their ranks, they look the strongest they have ever been. Will they be able to carry this momentum all the way to the Constructor’s Championship?
Read more: Mazepin criticises Hamilton and Perez for crossing the line and breaking gentleman’s agreement