Marko bullish on Red Bull’s race pace in Canada

A three-way fight is shaping up at the front of the grid for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, with Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren all in the mix.

Despite entering the weekend pessimistic, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko is now far more optimistic after Max Verstappen qualified second behind George Russell in Montreal.

"If we look at the race simulations, the tyre wear on Mercedes was clearly worse," Marko said, suggesting Red Bull may have the upper hand on Sunday over a race distance.

Oscar Piastri, who starts third for McLaren, echoed that view.

“He (Verstappen) doesn’t just look fast over one lap, but also in the race simulation,” he told Viaplay.

McLaren has looked slightly off the pace this weekend, allowing Mercedes and Red Bull to seize the spotlight.

With Russell on pole and Verstappen alongside him, tensions are already simmering following their controversial collision in Barcelona just two weeks ago.

Verstappen, however, has made it clear he’s tired of the continued speculation about his penalty points and the possibility of a looming race ban if he slips up again before his license starts to reset.

Asked about the FIA’s spreadsheets tracking the points expiry system, Verstappen replied bluntly: “I don’t look at them. That’s much easier to understand. I’m not that good with Excel.” Pressed again on whether he’s concerned about clashing with Russell and picking up more points, Verstappen cut the question short.

“I don’t need to hear it again,” he said. “It’s really p*ssing me off. It’s such a waste of time. It’s very childish. That’s why I don’t want to say too much, because it’s really annoying - this world that we live in.”

When another journalist attempted to raise the issue moments later, Verstappen responded with silence.

Russell, meanwhile, played it cool, even laughing off Verstappen’s post-race Barcelona comment about bringing him tissues if they tangled again.

“That was quite funny, to be fair,” Russell said. “I did have a giggle about that.”

The Mercedes driver also confirmed that the incident hadn’t been raised in the drivers’ private WhatsApp group.

“No, we don’t talk about things like that. Things like this happen in motorsport, and there’s no need to discuss them.”

Still, Russell suggested he’ll be aggressive at the start on Sunday.

“I mean, I’ve got a few more points on my license to play with,” he said. “Neither of us are really in a championship battle. I haven’t had a win this year, so I want to get one on the board. Time will tell.”