https://racingnews365.nl/marko-lacht-na ... ion-hebben
Translation:
Max Verstappen took pole for the Bahrain GP, but the Dutchman himself had not counted on it. His team, according to Marko, wanted to give him a different set-up that was more focused on the race, but the Dutchman did not quite agree.
With a nice lead over the competition, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez secured the front row of the grid during qualifying for the Bahrain GP. The reigning world champion starts on P1, followed by his Mexican teammate. That obviously satisfied Helmut Marko, he told ServusTV.
"It looked more like during the test days, but we really had to do our best. However, we believe the difference will be more obvious in the race because our tire wear is very, very good. We also have enough tires to choose from, which will allow us to execute different strategies."
Verstappen wanted pole
Up until qualifying, things were not always going well for Verstappen. The Red Bull driver struggled with the balance of his RB19 and was far from comfortable.
Moreover, the Red Bull team wanted Max to drive with a set-up that was entirely focused on the race, but the Dutchman himself, according to Marko, wanted the focus to be partly on qualifying as well. And so, after a discussion with the engineers, a middle ground was sought.
"In terms of tuning, we sought a compromise," Marko explained. "Verstappen necessarily had to have pole position," the Red Bull advisor laughed. "That while the engineers wanted a setup focused on the race. With a compromise, we still achieved the goal."
Max wanted the pole haha
Might not look like an amazing decision tomorrow, but let's see.
He said they have "very, very good" degradation so that is even for Marko rather confident
