Helmut Marko feels that Max Verstappen was "lucky" to get away with some brushes against the barriers during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. While Verstappen finished the race in second – bringing home a 1-2 result for Red Bull, with Sergio Perez taking the win – it was not an entirely smooth weekend for the Dutchman. A poorly-timed pit stop ahead of the Safety Car being deployed in Baku resulted in the World Champion losing the race lead, something that Marko acknowledges can happen in such situations. "He had complaints about the rear tyres, so that was the right moment to bring him in," Marko told Sky Sports Germany. "We have said that before. Sometimes you benefit from the Safety Car, sometimes not. The damage was limited in the end."
'No risk, no fun'
While the weekend did not go in Verstappen's favour, Marko says that the mood within the team was positive after the race in Baku. "Everything was fine. He was faster in the car again in the last 10 laps, before that he didn't have the right balance," the Austrian explained. "Halfway through the race he had no chance against Perez, but that was because of the balance of the car. The fact that they are fighting among themselves makes for a raised heart rate, but it's also part of the sport. "We gave no team orders. Perez asked five laps before the end if the pace could be reduced, but we just let the two drivers race. No risk, no fun."
Verstappen was 'lucky'
Despite Red Bull's continued success, there remained some aspects of the weekend that Marko believes could have been better. "[Charles] Leclerc and [Fernando] Alonso drove the same lap times as us at the end, which means we didn't make the best use of our resources," he added. "If we want to be at the front on a street circuit like Monte Carlo, we still have work to do. "We had predicted that tyre wear would remain the same, but in our fast phases we may have overloaded the tyres a bit. Still, the potential of the car was not yet fully exploited." Marko also acknowledges that Verstappen seemed to have luck on his side during the event. "We were also lucky: Verstappen did kiss the wall four times. Perez was a bit less of a kisser," he concluded.
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