Helmut Marko admits Red Bull exceeded ride height limits in Mexico but expects no issues for the race. Helmut Marko reveals that Max Verstappen’s Red Bull exceeded the ride height limit in sector two.

The topic of ride height

After Max Verstappen’s victory with Red Bull in Singapore, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had pointed out that one of the keys to the performance gap might lie in “understanding certain aspects such as the ride height,” adding that he “would bet his dollar” on that explanation. Helmut Marko did not deny this theory at the time, simply saying: “It’s not wrong,” without offering any further details. Meanwhile, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies was more cautious, noting that “it’s not just one single factor or element.”

Max on the limit in Mexico

After qualifying only fifth in Mexico, Max Verstappen did not seem happy with the result and gave his fans little hope of a comeback in Sunday’s race. Speaking to Sky Deutschland, Helmut Marko admitted that Red Bull had concerns about the car’s ride height setup on Verstappen’s RB21. “The height is crucial,” he said, “and in sector two we were a bit over the limit. But for the race, when the fuel tanks are full and the corners are taken more slowly, that should be resolved.”

The Austrian advisor, however, avoided raising expectations too high. “We’ve improved, but we lost about two tenths in the second sector,” he explained. “It will be tough, and tire degradation will be decisive. Lando Norris seems untouchable here, so for us the best possible result is probably the podium.” – he concluded at the end of the qualifying session for the Mexico City Grand Prix.