On Wednesday after the race and the tests in Abu Dhabi, Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko (76) was already back in his office at seven in the morning. But even the rising sun and the view of the beautiful landscape could not improve his mood.
The reason? What he considers to be a too lenient penalty against Ferrari and Charles Leclerc in Abu Dhabi (fuel error). Background: The FIA had already determined before the race that the car of the Monegasque had 4.8 kilograms of fuel more than announced and thus allowed. Red Bull had deliberately reported on the incident during television interviews before the race, “so things are not swept under the carpet.”
One thing is certain: for Marko it was a clear rule violation that should have resulted in Charles Leclerc disqualification from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver did not face any consequences and kept his podium finish, while only Ferrari had to pay for the violation ($50,000).
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko said: “There are clear rules, this lenient punishment for this offense is a joke.” Ferrari, however, believes in a FIA measurement error. Team Principal Mattia Binotto explained: “We have been checked more than ten times and every time it was ok.”
Helmut Marko actually had no reason to be angry. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen finished second behind world champion Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi and therefore finished third in the World Championship, behind the two Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas – but ahead of the two Ferrari drivers.
“It’s about fairness, about compliance with the rules, about the equal treatment of all teams, Ferrari’s engine has been checked for several points that were probably beyond any gray areas, but nothing was done to correct it. If we suspect that there are any irregularities, we will definitely protest, and then Ferrari will have to disclose everything and the FIA will deal with it adequately.” – Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko warned.
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