Marko sees big advantage for Verstappen: 'It's easier'

Max Verstappen set an excellent lap during qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon, and the Dutchman will therefore start the decisive race from pole position. Helmut Marko is very happy about this, although he remains realistic.

The Red Bull Racing advisor, with all his experience, knows better than anyone how important it is to start the race well. Circumstances have forced Verstappen to start the race with the soft tyre, but in qualifying he was almost four tenths quicker than his rival Lewis Hamilton, who finished second.

While Hamilton will start the race on medium tyres, Verstappen will have the softest compound on his car at the start. Marko therefore expects the strategies of both teams to differ significantly and believes this will make the difference. At the same time he doesn't dare to draw any conclusions.

"It's easier when you can set the pace at the front than when you have to chase and attack," judges Marko in conversation with Sport1.de. "For us it is the optimal starting situation, with the small limitation that the possibilities with the medium tyres would have been more variable."