Helmut Marko Addresses Major Issues That Led to Verstappens Seventh Place Finish

The motorsport advisor for the Red Bull team, **[Helmut Marko](https://example.com/tags/15581-khelmut-marko)**, acknowledged significant issues following the qualifying sessions for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which resulted in reigning Formula 1 champion **[Max Verstappen](https://example.com/tags/22208-maks-ferstappen)** finishing in seventh place.

«It turned out to be worse than we anticipated, as we made several changes to the car that we thought would enhance its performance. However, Verstappen suddenly encountered issues with the brakes.

This was a serious problem, and our engineers clearly observed it in the telemetry data. We still do not know the root cause of this issue, and it only affected Max’s car.

I can say that this qualifying session wasn’t entirely smooth. Nevertheless, both of our drivers reached the third segment, which is a positive outcome. I’m confident that without the brake problems, Max would have secured at least third or fourth place.

As for Tsunoda, his time on the first quick lap was disqualified due to exceeding track limits. However, he maintained his composure and continued to improve. This is exactly the level of performance we expect from him,» Marko stated, according to Motorsport.