“The new regulations clearly put Mercedes in the favourite’s role. However, they’ve already had their second engine failure, which is unusual for them. Generally speaking, though, updates are certainly more effective at this stage of the regulations; you can gain five-tenths of a second in one go,” Marko explained.
Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen – Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
“Red Bull is fielding a car at the weight limit for the first time, so they’ll definitely be there. I hope Max can then be up front. Mercedes is the favourite, but the rest of the field is more than interesting,” he added.
Stella backs Ferrari to be quickest in Austria
“Austria is a slightly different circuit. Here, stability and braking and turning are so essential. In Barcelona, there’s more straight-line braking, and then you go into some low-speed corners. So it’s a slightly different circuit compared to here. But I would expect that Ferrari remains the faster car in the corners. Probably Mercedes over a single lap, the best car on the grid. When the chassis and the power unit are both considered,” Stella explained.
The McLaren team boss was, however, measured about his team’s prospects in Austria, noting that McLaren’s focus remains on bringing upgrades to address ongoing weaknesses and improve overall performance.