Frequent retirements knocked Max Verstappen’s morale during the 2017 Formula 1 season, according to Helmut Marko.
Verstappen’s year may have ended on a high, but the Red Bull racer retired from more races than he finished in the first half of the season. He took seven DNFs from 20 races and finished more than 30 points behind team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
“With seven DNFs his season was not a walk in the park,” Marko told F1.com.
“Sometimes his morale was really down – but it was a steep learning process for him and he came out better than he was before.”
Three of the seven retirements were caused by collisions or collision damage. The next most common cause was engine problems.
The unreliable Renault engine cost all three teams powered by the French manufacturer.
Between them, Verstappen and Ricciardo were penalised 110 grid places over the course of the season and used 12 internal combustion engines, as well as numerous other components.
Marko believes the engine problems hindered Red Bull’s chances at second in the championship but admitted the team’s chassis was also not as competitive as it should have been.
“We had correlation problems that had forced us to start the season with a non-competitive chassis,” he said.
“We were able to change that at the start of the European season in Barcelona – and from Budapest onwards I would say that we had the competitive chassis we had in mind…
“We have learned our lesson from this year: we will not show up at the Barcelona tests with a non-competitive chassis! We have changed our schedule and how we approach the winter preparations.”
