Marko backs Perez to recover from poor Suzuka outing

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has backed Sergio Perez to recover from his difficult outing at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Perez was involved in a number of incidents during the race, the first of which was on the run to the first corner, forcing him to pit for a new front wing.

The Mexican was then handed a duo of time penalties, first for a Safety Car infringement and secondly for making contact with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

Red Bull opted to retire the car, but made a brief reappearance to serve the time penalty he was handed for colliding with Magnussen.

"He had an unfortunate day which originated in the free practice sessions,” Marko told Viaplay.

“He couldn't match Max's speed and today just everything went wrong, but we are confident of a strong comeback from him.”

'Verstappen motivated after Singapore loss'

While Perez’s day was filled with jeopardy, team-mate Max Verstappen produced a strong drive to win the race.

Verstappen dominated the Suzuka event, crossing the line almost 20 seconds ahead of Lando Norris in second place.

The Dutchman’s cruise to victory came one week after Red Bull struggled in Singapore, which was the scene of its first loss of the current

“He drove another incredible race,” Marko said. “True, he didn't have the best start, but just as well he managed to control the McLarens, after which he finished the race relatively easily."

“He was very motivated after Singapore. I must admit that we still don't know what went wrong there, but we did prove that it was an incident. We are looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Verstappen’s drive at Suzuka was enough to deliver Red Bull its sixth Constructors’ Championship - a feat that Marko was pleased to achieve in Japan due to the team’s relationship with Honda.

"It's so nice that it's happening here,” he said. “The Honda factory is only a few kilometres away.”