Credits: IMAGO / eu-images
During the sole Free Practice session on Friday, Verstappen struggled. Even during the Sprint race which he won, Verstappen was having a hard time fending off the chasing McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
In Qualifying, however, he drove a dominant lap. This was despite the RB20 being set up to favor race pace over single-lap speed. Marko states, “I’m very surprised at this result. Four-tenths on this track means about a second on a track like Spa.”
Marko went on to say that the setup Verstappen has is for Sunday. “We focused mainly on the race,” the 81-year-old adds.
As such, the RB20’s pace could be problematic for the likes of Lando Norris and George Russell, who would have been thinking about a win. Red Bull also has a car that treats its tires well. And if Verstappen can keep similar levels of pace up with minimal tire wear, he could run away with a win in Spielberg, which will be his 62nd Grand Prix win.
That being said, taking the Spanish GP into account, many believe that the MCL38 is a better race car than the RB20. The Woking-based team should be confident that the race win tomorrow would not be written off in Verstappen’s favor.
Lando Norris looks forward to challenging Max Verstappen at the Austrian GP
The opening few laps of Saturday’s Sprint race saw Norris and even his teammate Oscar Piastri hound the Dutchman on the track. The latter managed to hold on and thanks to his brilliance, won with a four-second advantage.
For McLaren, this would be encouraging. With a good strategy, Norris and Co. could aim for a win, and the Bristol-born driver is looking forward to the prospect of battling Verstappen. “The races have been very good to us lately, one of our strengths relative to qualifying. So I’m excited to see what we can do,” he said to Sky Sports F1.
Still, Verstappen remains the favorite. And if the RB20’s setup does make Red Bull the outright fastest on Sunday, Norris (or others) won’t stand a chance.
