Marko, 80, admitted that qualifying had shown their rivals are closing the gap on them after losing out on pole for only the second time this season, with Hamilton claiming his 104th pole in F1.
“Well, if the car isn’t in the best position, like in Budapest qualifying, we feel that the others are getting closer,” he added.
He also suggested that Verstappen could have gone even faster at the Hungaroring, despite winning the race by over 33 seconds – the second-longest winning margin in recent memory after Lewis Hamilton crossed the line 53 seconds quicker than Verstappen in 2021.
“That’s true, we’re way ahead in race trim,” he replied, when reminded about the huge advantage. “Max actually could have driven even faster, he wasn’t at the limit by a long shot.”