Helmut Marko gives reason why Max Verstappen has dominated in Charles Leclerc fight

Max Verstappen makes subtle dig at Lewis Hamilton in April

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Helmut Marko has revealed the reasons why Max Verstappen has dominated the 2022 season in his title battle with Charles Leclerc. Marko praised Red Bull technical director Adrian Newey and Honda for the team’s success this year.

Verstappen has picked up eight victories from the 13 races this season and won the first four races where he reached the chequered flag. The Dutchman has also picked up a further two podiums and only finished outside the top-three once.

He was blighted by two weary retirements in Bahrain and Australia but has since been consistent in his pursuit of a second title. Marko told Motorsport-total.com: “The car concept comes from Newey, who created a car that produces a lot of downforce with low drag. That’s one thing.

“The other is that Honda have developed further, and the switch to E10 fuel has hardly cost any performance. It’s the combination of both.” Marko has also acknowledged the team’s “different approach” to playing a part in their success.

He said the team were now one of the strongest on the straights which suffered from previous campaigns. Marko explained: “Now it’s just a completely different approach.

“In previous years, we were usually the slowest on the straights. Now we are the fastest. That is nice. And in the corners we don’t lose much of what we gain on the straights.”

As Vertasappen mopped up points, Ferrari have struggled to stay competitive after a range of mechanical failures and strategy mistakes.  Leclerc has only secured one win since April and has consistently dropped points from good positions.

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Ferrari’s bad call cost him a chance of victory in Monaco, Britain and Hungary. Meanwhile, individual errors were to blame at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and in France when he was in front.

The Monegasque has also been forced out of two races this season which he looked likely to challenge for victory. Christian Horner said Red Bull’s position at this stage of the season was beyond his “wildest dreams”.

He commented: “Now, we’ve seen Ferrari are very competitive also this year, we’ve seen other teams – Mercedes for sure are gathering momentum – but considering that we were probably the last team to transition [development] fully onto this car it’s been a phenomenal job.”

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