Helmut Marko singles out ‘insane’ Red Bull rival for praise after the United States GP

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Red Bull appeared to fix a lot of their problems with the RB20 with a few floor upgrades at the United States Grand Prix, but they still had several rivals on track.

Max Verstappen was unable to match the race pace of the Ferrari’s up front, with Charles Leclerc comfortably leading from the first corner until the chequered flag after the Dutchman tangled with title rival Lando Norris at the first corner.

Sergio Perez had to contend with starting ninth on the grid and was struggling to improve throughout much of the race, with him eventually finishing in seventh place after a late overtake by George Russell.

Russell had started from the pits after Mercedes elected to change a specification of components under Parc Ferme, which meant he needed to put on a comeback performance to yield any points.

Despite a penalty for forcing Valtteri Bottas off track, which Toto Wolff later accused the US GP stewards of being biased, he recovered to sixth. His performance impressed Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who praised him when speaking to Sky Sports.

Helmut Marko praises George Russell for US GP performance

Russell has received praise from Red Bull before, with Christian Horner not ruling out that the Briton could be an option to join the team in the future.

Marko felt his pace was impressive after Mercedes decided to stop him later on in the race, enabling him to utilise the tyre offset to cars around him including Perez.

“You shouldn’t underestimate Russell, he had an insane pace. If he had started at the front, things would have been different,” said Marko.

“It’s a four-way battle with Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and us. If it alternates, it will play into our hands. It was a bit much for the heart and pulse rate today, I hope that it isn’t like that every race.”

Damon Hill was confused by George Russell’s penalty

Former F1 driver and 1996 World Champion Damon Hill felt Russell’s penalty for his move on Bottas was confusing and cited the same scenario as Verstappen.

Verstappen had been racing Lando Norris in the closing stages of the race and the pair were side-by-side heading into Turn 12 fighting over the final podium spot.

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The Dutchman took to the inside while Norris was on the outside of the corner, running the McLaren wide and in doing so himself off the track.

While Verstappen did not receive a penalty, Norris did for overtaking him off track and gaining an advantage.