Marko is hoping for help from AlphaTauri in Mexico

During the first two practice sessions in Mexico, Red Bull wowed the crowd, though Helmut Marko praised AlphaTauri’s speed.

Helmut Marko, a Red Bull advisor, was delighted with his team’s performance during Friday practice for the Mexican Grand Prix, though he would want to see Pierre Gasly join the fight at the front of the grid as well.

In FP2, Max Verstappen achieved the fastest time, with Sergio Perez coming in fourth.

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda of sister team AlphaTauri also had a strong showing, finishing P5 and P8 respectively, though the rookie will have to serve a grid penalty after taking on several new power unit components.

Given how competitive all four Honda-powered cars were on Friday, Marko believes Gasly can contribute to front battle in Mexico.

“I think Gasly will be able to join the fight at the front of the grid,” Marko told Motorsport-Total. “He hasn’t put in a good lap in free air yet.”

Marko is also holding out hope that Perez can improve his time during Saturday qualifying given the traffic he encountered on Friday.

He added: “Perez is close, and he didn’t even have a free lap because encountered a lot of traffic on track.

“I think he can just sit there tomorrow. Max is too fast, but behind him, it will be very exciting. From P2 to P5, everyone is very close together.”

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