"You asked, so we did it!" - Red Bull to ask for more one-two finishes 'if it's as easy as that'

Red Bull's bravery with upgrades and the performance of both their drivers at the 2022 F1 Imola GP has been hailed by Dr. Helmut Marko. The Austrian has been a perennial advisor to Christian Horner's side while also assisting with their prestigious junior driver program.

In an interview carried by SpeedCity Broadcasting and quoted by RACER, the veteran Austrian had asked Sergio Perez to help the team's cause by securing a one-two finish with Max Verstappen. He said:

“It was funny, I told [Sergio] Perez before the start ‘we have to have a one-two so we can catch up’ and afterwards he said ‘you asked, so we did it!’ So if it’s as easy as that we will tell them more often! It’s very satisfying, and after the problems we had in Melbourne and at the first race, we showed we have the potential and the speed to react."

Red Bull had fallen off in the battle for both world championships after a spate of reliability issues in the opening three races. They romped back to form in spectacular fashion at Imola, bagging a maximum points haul minus one while Ferrari faltered on their home turf. Marko went on to add:

“We were brave — we brought an update and with the sprint format you just have one session to adjust. That session was partly wet, so it was even more difficult, but we believe and we trust in our aerodynamics — that’s why our chief of aerodynamics (Enrico Balbo) was on the podium — and it proved to be right."

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"We didn't really make any mistakes" - Max Verstappen after Red Bull's domination during 2022 F1 Imola GP

While Marko praised the team for taking chances, Max Verstappen attributed Red Bull's success at Imola to a lack of mistakes.

After winning both Sprint and feature races and helping Red Bull claim their first one-two finish since 2016, the Dutchman said:

“You know, we didn’t really make any mistakes, I think we made the right calls with switching from the inters to the slicks, and from there onwards we just controlled the race. And of course, it seemed probably easy on the TV, but you still have to be focused, especially also with backmarkers."

The reigning world champion went on to add:

It’s easy when you’re off-line to lock up or go through a wet patch and go off track. So yeah, just manage that… Passing back markers. Some of them stayed on the dry line, and I had to pass them on the wet patches. That wasn’t amazing, but it is what it is. I mean, just have to deal with it. But again, it’s easy to then go off the track.”

Red Bull go into the 2022 F1 Miami GP only 11 points behind leaders Ferrari in the World Constructors' Championships as a result of their impressive showing in Imola.