Max Verstappen finished second at the British GP behind Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman started the race from fourth position yet managed to get ahead. Helmut Marko felt Max Verstappen lacked pace during the race and explained the reasons for that.

Helmut Marko highlighted that Max Verstappen faced significant challenges during his race right from the start. He mentioned Verstappen had problems with medium tires he was using. The tires started to wear out too quickly, which made the car harder to control and slowed him down. Marko highlighted when it started raining, Verstappen unexpectedly struggled. Usually, the Dutchman is really good at driving in wet conditions, but this time it didn’t work out that way. These problems early on affected how the rest of the race played out for Verstappen and Red Bull.

We lost the race in the first stint, as Max suffered from a lot of graining on medium. Moreover, he lost an awful lot of time on a wet track, whereas that is normally his strength.
Helmut Marko said, as reported by RacingNews365

Marko explained the main issue was with the tires particularly. However, he praised the team for their excellent work with pit stops and strategy. Despite the tire challenges earlier in the race, the choice to switch to hard tires for the final stint was decided. Marko mentioned this choice gave them a chance to compete closely with Lewis Hamilton. The 81-year-old mentioned Verstappen was only two laps away to defeat Hamilton for the race win.

The tires were not working, but I have to thank our people for the pit stops and strategy. Everything was right, including the hard tyres in the last stint. We were two laps short of beating Hamilton.
Helmut Marko added

Helmut Marko praised Lewis Hamilton upon ending his 945 days victory drought at Silverstone. The race was very entertaining and thrilling to watch with the dynamic weather conditions and intense competition between McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes. Marko speaking to the media acknowledged Lewis Hamilton’s impressive performance on a dry track. He praised Hamilton’s ability to maintain control and skillfully manage the race conditions. Marko’s comments highlighted Hamilton’s strong driving skills and how well he handled the challenges presented on the track.

You can only congratulate him [Lewis Hamilton], because he held on brilliantly on a dry track.
Helmut Marko stated
Lewis Hamilton (Via IMAGO)

Further, Marko pointed out Lewis Hamilton’s strength in managing his tires during the race. The 81-year-old highlighted that Hamilton’s ability to handle the tires effectively showed his skill and knowledge, even as he continued to race at such high level. Marko’s comments showed how good Hamilton is at planning his race and how skilled he is in Formula 1. This highlighted that Hamilton was still fast even after racing for a long time.

You then see his strength in terms of tyre management. Lewis did a great job and that just shows how much speed and experience he still has.
Helmut Marko added

Certainly, Helmut Marko stated that Lewis Hamilton pulled off a great race despite not winning a race since 2021. Fans were very delighted by his win and celebrated it as a festival of joy, they are hoping for more such wins with Mercedes in the upcoming races.