Marko on Aston Martin's AMR23: "Our former employees obviously have a good memory"
Helmut Marko has raised questions over Aston Martin's AMR23 legality, as the car shares many similarities to RB18.
Red Bull may have started their season the best way possible, securing a 1-2 finish at the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain, but that's not where things end. Fernando Alonso scored a podium on his first race with Aston Martin, proving that the AMR23 is truly a magnificent car, that can not only stay ahead of the other midfield teams, but fight with the frontrunners, like Red Bull and Ferrari.
Of course, Helmut Marko is concerned about Aston Martin, as they seem to have created a really quick and stable car, that is able to fight for podiums, and even wins, if given the chance. The Austrian highlighted that the engineers and aerodynamicists that departed from Red Bull in late 2022 and ended up in Silverstone, where Aston Martin's headquarters are, obviously have "a really good memory".
One of the key people that left Red Bull's crew is Dan Fallows, Adrian Newey's right hand, who not only played a major role in designing the RB18, but contributed to the early stages of RB19's development. That is something that should have alarmed Marko and Horner from the beginning, as Formula 1 is no place for sympathy.
"It's good to see three Red Bull cars on the podium"
Marko raised questions over AMR23's legality, taking the matter to the FIA, but the Federation founded that there was nothing objectionable, and the IP for the AMR22 was 100% original, with the team saying they even began working on the design back in 2021 before Fallows joined them.
That didn't satisfy Marko, as the AMR23 truly looks too good to be true, and the 79 year old is once again raising questions.
"It’s true that what Fallows had in his head cannot be erased.
"Copying the focus is not prohibited, but can you copy in such detail without having documentation of our car?
"We had three Red Bulls on the podium, only the last one with a different engine," the Red Bull Motorsport advisor told Servus TV.
The Austrian went a step further and commented on Alonso's performance on Sunday, that gifted Aston Martin 15 valuable points, which, together with Lance Stroll's P6 (another 8 points), brought the Brits on the second place of the Constructors' Championship standings:
"I said it before the race: Alonso will be third. His fight with Hamilton was incredible. It was a tough duel, but fair. Really old school. If Fernando had started further up, he would surely have been a threat to us."
As it is expected, Marko wasn't the only Red Bull member that explored the world of unnecessarily spicy comments on Aston Martin's performance, with Sergio Perez joking on the podium that "it’s nice to see three Red Bull cars on the podium," which of course was at first stated by Red Bull CEO and Team Principal, Christian Horner:
"Based on one race, you’d have to say they were the second strongest here."
"They’ve obviously done a good job over the winter. They say imitation is the biggest form of flattery and, you know, it’s good to see the old car doing so well."