Helmut Marko has praised Max Verstappen for how he drove under "immense pressure" during the closing stages of the Canadian Grand Prix. Verstappen spent the final laps of the race with Carlos Sainz on his tail as the Ferrari driver looked for a way past the Dutchman. However, it was Verstappen who held on to claim his sixth win of the 2022 season, and Marko was left very impressed by how his driver handled the whole weekend. "He had an incredible qualifying and during the race? That pressure after the last Safety Car was immense!" Marko told Austrian broadcaster ORF . "Max just could not get away from the DRS (Drag Reduction System)! In Sector 2 Ferrari were clearly faster than we were. "The pressure we had to endure, always with DRS... Thank God Sainz had a small braking error twice, that made our lives a bit easier."
Verstappen defended "cleverly", says Marko
Marko believes that Verstappen took an intelligent approach to his defence against Sainz. "He did that very cleverly," Marko commented. "He recharged the battery every time and came back with full power. Especially in the second sector it went fast." There was also an additional issue when Verstappen faced issues with his radio. "Then Max's radio also cut out," Marko continued. "Could he even hear our communication? We still had some energy left for the last lap, but it was not clear whether he heard us or not."
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