Red Bull accepted Leclerc errors with ’thanks’

Dr Helmut Marko says Red Bull has "thankfully accepted" the poor five-race run endured by championship charger Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari team.

He admits the energy drink owned team and runaway championship leader Max Verstappen have benefitted from Ferrari’s run of "technical defects" and "tactically questionable decisions".

"To be fair, one has to say that Leclerc hasn’t been where he could have been in the last five races," Marko told German broadcaster ntv.

"We have thankfully accepted them but in the long run that won’t be the case. But apart from Barcelona, we had a winning car in every race.

"That’s what makes us confident for the rest of the season," he added.

Verstappen and Leclerc, both 24, will start Saturday’s sprint race at the Red Bull Ring from first and second places.