Max Verstappen had to make do with third place after qualifying on Saturday. Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko, however, seems to think that Lando Norris held the Dutchman on purpose. But, McLaren has denied this claim.
During Q3, Verstappen encountered traffic and Norris was told on the radio to ‘not give away any advantages’. This seemed suspicious to Marko.
McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl offered an explanation for this.
“It’s normal that we don’t want to give someone a tow on the straight,” he said.
Considering it would put McLaren at a disadvantage, he said, “So that on-board radio was not meant against anybody. So accusations about that are nonsense.
“We are driving here for ourselves, so we are doing absolutely no one any favours. We just want to finish as high as possible and not help anyone.”
Norris clocked an excellent lap during qualifying starting in seventh. His teammate Daniel Ricciardo, however, did not have much luck with his car and finished P16.
Do you think the radio message was meant against Verstappen? Let us know in the comments below!
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