Max Verstappen’s Ninth Place Start at the Styrian Grand Prix Blamed on Charles Leclerc’s Accident by Red Bull Consultant

After qualifying, Max Verstappen admitted a mistake in the first attempt in the final, and could not pass the second, as the session was stopped due to red flags after the accident of Charles Leclerc.

Red Bull racing consultant Helmut Marko said on German Sky that the failure of Max, who starts only ninth, is not to blame for his racer, but for the Monegasque from Ferrari.

Helmut Marko: “I would joke about the fact that you can’t go to qualifying for Leclerc. Max was very unlucky in his last attempt. In the first, he drove a little wider, and in the second we should have left a little earlier. There was time for this, and the speed of the car made it possible to confidently take a place in the first two rows.

Max wanted to give his all on the last attempt, to get the most out of it. The later you leave, the faster the track, but in this case we made the wrong decision.

I’m glad Sergio took pole. This is his second home race after Mexico City, he is incredibly supported here. With each session, he learned, and in qualifying he did everything right. In recent years, he has always been half a second or a second behind Max, but now they are very close.