Helmut Marko “grateful” to Charles Leclerc for holding off Oscar Piastri after fears of Aussie driver catching up to the Red Bull star

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko mentioned that he was relieved to see Charles Leclerc defend against Oscar Piastri at the Dutch GP since the Aussie was catching up to Max Verstappen. Leclerc's defense against Piastri indirectly allowed Verstappen to secure P2 without any major pressure.

During the race at Zandvoort, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc fought with each other right from the beginning. At first, Leclerc was chasing Piastri, but after their first pitstops, the tables turned. In the latter half of the race, the McLaren driver started chasing the Monegasque. The Ferrari driver, however, defended with everything he got and secured a P3 position at the Dutch GP.

Since Oscar Piastri was slightly faster than both Leclerc and Verstappen, there was a chance for him to overtake both Ferrari and Red Bull drivers. However, this was prevented by Leclerc.

In his column on "Speedweek", Helmut Marko explained how Red Bull was afraid that Piastri could plow through the field and overtake Verstappen. However, he acknowledged how the defending world champion was saved by Charles Leclerc.

"We were also afraid that Piastri would catch Max too, because hes very fast. But then, thank God, he was stuck behind Charles Leclerc. It's not entirely clear to me why that was, because he was a second faster than Max before he met Leclerc and didn't get past. We are very grateful to Leclerc for stopping him," Marko said.

Red Bull senior also explained how Max Verstappen struggled with his tires early in the race, which cost him the lead as McLaren's Lando Norris overtook him.

"Norris also passed Max Verstappen on the 18th lap when Max's tires collapsed and the usual problem occurred and the car went from understeer to oversteer. This made it impossible to keep Norris' times," Marko added.

---

Max Verstappen's father comments on Red Bull's recent performance dip

Red Bull's recent performance dip was sharply pointed out by Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen. This was especially after Max lost his home race in Zandvoort. Jos pushed the team to examine their development cycle closely and make improvements.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, he said that the fact that the prior version of the RB20 was superior, indicated flaws in the team's development process. He went on to make the firm declaration that the group needed to do a self-reanalysis.

"Maybe I shouldn't say it, but I will anyway. The fact that you have to go back to the car from the beginning of this year says it all. They're just not doing it right here at the moment. I think they should take a good look in the mirror," Jos Verstappen said.

With 434 points as of now, Red Bull is still leading the 2024 Constructors' Championship. But McLaren, who is in second place with 404 points, is not too far behind.