Fix games tips Helmut Marko: I still think that the 5-second penalty cost Verstappen victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

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Marko is confident that Verstappen could have won the race in Jeddah. Advisor and curator of the Red Bull youth program Helmut Marko summed up the results by live sport events of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Marco believes that Max Verstappen would have had enough speed to win the race if he had not received a 5-second penalty for cutting the chicane at the start of the race, due to which he retained the lead.
After some time has passed since the events of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, I still hold the following opinion: the 5-second penalty cost Verstappen the race win.
Overtaking in modern Formula 1 is becoming increasingly difficult. As soon as a driver finds himself in the dirty air behind his opponent`s car, his car not only begins to lose aerodynamic efficiency, but also begins to suffer from increased tire wear.
In Jeddah we saw how Max managed to get away from Oscar Piastri by 2. 5 seconds in the first part of the race. And after the pit stop I gained time from the Australian, which tells me that we had the speed necessary to win. But in the end, Max simply couldn`t get close enough to Oscar to carry out the attack.
On the radio we barely discussed the possibility of returning Piastri to the position to avoid a fine. Our strategy expert and FIA contact pointed out that in Formula 2 there have been several incidents similar to the one involving Verstappen and Piastri in the first turn. And there were no fines, only warnings. Luke Browning was warned twice for such maneuvers, but was not fined.
We looked at it more as a racing incident - and that these things sometimes happen at the start of a race. The footage from the on-board cameras was also a little confusing. In the first image, Piastri was clearly in front, but in the second, directly in the braking zone, Max was already ahead again.
So we were quite optimistic and believed that we would avoid a fine. And therefore they decided not to return Piastri`s position. At the same time, we are also well aware that once we are behind Piastri, it will be difficult for us to overtake McLaren again.
As for the start itself, Max`s was not as good as Piastri`s; wheel slip occurred in second and third gear. Which helped Oscar catch up with Max.
Now Piastri is leading the Formula 1 championship for the first time in his career, and taking into account his performances in recent races, he is cemented as our main competitor in the fight for the title. However, it remains to be seen whether Oscar can maintain this level of performance over the course of an entire season. For example, last year there were two or three tracks where Piastri was sometimes slightly and sometimes significantly inferior in speed to Lando Norris, " Marco said in a column for SpeedWeek.
F1 team strength rating after the start of the season: McLaren is still vulnerable
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