Red Bull had a qualifying session full of ups and downs. On one hand, Max Verstappen was the second-fastest in qualifying – only beaten by arch-rival, Lewis Hamilton. On the other hand, Sergio Perez had a disappointing quali session as he only could secure 11th on the grid.

The team’s advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, has protected the Mexican driver instead of criticizing him. Marko is known to be harsh when assessing the talent of his drivers, but for Qatar Grand Prix this weekend, he defended Checo.

Helmut Marko protects Sergio Perez after a poor qualifying run

Perez is undoubtedly one of the fastest drivers on the Formula One grid. However, for the Qatar Grand Prix, he faced obstacles that saw him exit in Q2. Instead of blaming Checo for his poor session, Marko defended him.

He said, as quoted by Sky Sports, “He got into traffic. He lost it in one sector. He had a bit more problems with the larger rear wing than the Max. With this changeover, he did it’s a little harder when the car is different to drive.

“Let’s see what we can do from eleventh place. ” (Translated from via Google Translate)

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Can Checo overcome the problems that await him on Sunday?

The Milton-Keynes outfit will need both their drivers to secure a good finish if they want to fight Mercedes in the constructors. But, with Checo starting eleventh on the grid for Sunday’s race, Red Bull hope he can assist Verstappen to secure maximum points for the teams’ championship.

With a few hours to go before the lights go out at the Losail International Circuit, what are your predictions for Red Bull as they prepare to battle it out in round 20 of this season? Let us know in the comments below.

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