Red Bull has admitted Max Verstappen had “all the luck in the world” to recover from an FP1 stoppage to take pole position for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix Sprint.
Verstappen was circulating during the weekend’s sole practice hour when he slowed to a halt on the pit straight and his Red Bull car was pushed back into the garage.
However, the Dutchman would return to the track moments later in a remarkable turnaround and proceeded to end the session with the quickest lap on the timesheet.
Verstappen then pipped McLaren’s Lando Norris to the top spot in Sprint Qualifying, but Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has conceded that the team had got fortunate.
Marko has explained Red Bull counted its blessings that Verstappen came to a stop with a disabled oil pressure sensor on the start-finish straight at the Red Bull Ring.
“We’re very happy to have achieved this pole position,” Marko told Servus TV.
“In the first practice session, Max drove straight ahead in Turn 1 and unfortunately went over these humps
with almost all four wheels and that disabled a sensor that indicates oil pressure, so theoretically there was no oil pressure.
“So of course you have to turn it off to save the engine, but then we had all the luck in the world that it happened right there at the front [of the pits].
“That allowed [the car] to roll back, they were able to push it out, we deactivated the sensor and it continued – and we only lost maybe one or two laps.”
Marko has denied that Red Bull harboured worries that Verstappen could’ve been penalised when he rolled back down the track during a subsequent red flag period.
“I believe that our Jonathan Wheatley, our sporting director, has a very good handle on all these rules and is in communication with the stewards,” he added.
“And you can’t roll back quickly anyway!”
Heading into the weekend, Marko was concerned, though, about Red Bull being able to remain the leading team with the Sprint format providing one practice session.
However, the Austrian stalwart’s distress was eased as the RB20 emerged competitive enough from the outset to enable Verstappen to go 0.093s quicker than Norris.
“This time the car was also good right from the start,” Marko beamed.
“It’s no secret: the last few races we’ve had to do three practice sessions and qualifying to get the balance right.
“This time the car was in a good balance right from the start and then of course Max did the lap.”
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