Marko mocks McLaren after 'unbelievable' Verstappen victory

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has mocked McLaren following its Japanese Grand Prix strategy after Max Verstappen converted his sensational pole position into the 64th victory of his F1 career.

Verstappen controlled the race at Suzuka to claim the win ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with the top three separated by just two seconds. 

Marko, though, has questioned the Woking-based team's decision to attempt an undercut with Piastri and to pit Norris on the same lap as Verstappen. 

McLaren opted for a safe strategy, opting not to run either driver longer into the race, much to Marko's amusement.

"The strategy they choose is up to them," Marko told De Telegraaf. "It seemed that Oscar was the faster one. 

"Whether he could have overtaken Max then? That's a different story on this circuit anyway. But maybe this is another version of McLaren's papaya rules..."

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An alternate strategy appeared to be the only hope McLaren had of stopping Verstappen, who has now won the Japanese GP on four successive occasions. 

Neither Norris nor Piastri had any answer to the Dutchman, although Marko conceded he opted not to place a bet on his driver winning.

"I didn't bet, because I was too scared... Max drove 53 laps on the limit today, 53 qualifying laps," added Marko. "Without making a single mistake. Unbelievable!"

The key to Verstappen's triumph was his remarkable qualifying lap record on Saturday which saw him claim pole, something only possible after Red Bull made several changes to the RB21. 

Marko has insisted the car continues to have its faults, claiming the only chance Red Bull and Verstappen have of beating McLaren to the title is for complete unity.

"We have made good steps this weekend in terms of tuning the car because we have changed a lot," revealed Marko. "But we have to keep fighting and keep working together. 

"Only then will we have a chance to beat McLaren. If we can't win, we have to maximise [the result]. I think that's how it will be all season."