Helmut Marko has labelled Max Verstappen's victory at Imola a "masterpiece" after attracting the close attention of the Formula 1 stewards.
Verstappen started on pole and led the race from start to finish. But that fact does not even begin to take into account the context of what was a hard-fought victory in the end of the Red Bull racer.
Lando Norris was less than a second behind the Dutchman when he took the chequered flag. The McLaren driver was closing in the late stages while Verstappen struggled on his hard tyres and, had the race been a lap or two longer, the Briton might have snatched the win.
And Red Bull adviser Marko pointed out how his driver had manager to keep Norris at by all while being under threat of a penalty. Verstappen had received a final warning for exceeding track limits earlier in the race and one more violations would have meant time being added on to his result.
Writing in his Speedweek column, Marko said: "Max violated the track limits a few times in the Imola race, there was a final warning and a five-second penalty would have been due. That was very critical. Because the last 10 or 15 laps were the hardest for him in the Grand Prix, and he couldn't afford to make any more mistakes.
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"If he had been given a five-second penalty, the victory would have been lost. Because in Italy it was not possible to gain a lead of more than five seconds. Clearly the race stewards and opponents were keeping a close eye on Max, and that was Verstappen's next masterpiece - not making a mistake under such enormous pressure with a car that was difficult to drive and keeping Lando at bay."
Marko heaped praise upon colleagues at Red Bull for helping the team into a position to get the win after struggling in practice. And he also pointed out that the competition they are facing is much stiffer now with two teams pushing them hard.
The Austrian added: "Ferrari upgraded the car in Imola, and it worked, even if the Italians were not quite as fast in qualifying as we had expected. Perhaps Ferrari had a little less fuel on board on Friday when Charles Leclerc set the best times, in order to stoke the mood among the Tifosi. In the race, Leclerc finished just eight seconds behind winner Verstappen, in third place behind Norris. Ferrari was fast.
"In Miami and now in Imola, McLaren managed to get the racing tires with the medium-hard and hard compounds into the optimal working window. The English have also come closer to us with their technical improvements, and they have recently put together the better package in terms of race set-up.
"From this I conclude: It will be tight for us in the coming races, and the differences will sometimes benefit one car and sometimes the other, depending on the track. If we are not optimally positioned, then thank God we still have the Max factor, which also brought us victory in Imola."
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