Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko currently holds a pessimistic view of Max Verstappen‘s title chances. The Dutchman is increasingly losing touch with McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship, after he could only score one point in Barcelona. “If we don’t solve our problems, the gap will only get bigger,” says Marko.
The gap between championship leader Oscar Piastri and third-place Max Verstappen has only grown after the Spanish GP. The Dutchman is now 49 points behind the Australian, and 39 points behind second-place Lando Norris. Partly due to the time penalty for the incident with George Russell in Barcelona, Verstappen finished tenth and thus only scored one point. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is pessimistic and does not expect Verstappen to catch up with the two McLaren drivers anytime soon.
‘Every lap at the limit’
According to the Austrian, Red Bull simply does not currently have the car to challenge McLaren. “Max has to drive every lap at the limit, that’s the only way (to keep up with the McLarens),” Marko reveals to ServusTV. “You can also see it in the way Yuki Tsunoda is currently struggling, how all (Verstappen’s, ed.) teammates struggled. Only Max can handle the car, even though it now has a larger working window.”
“If everything goes well, then we are just as fast as McLaren,” Marko continues. “But that’s only once every three or four races. McLaren is always at the front. If we don’t solve our problems, the gap will only get bigger.” Yet the Austrian has not given up hope. “With Sebastian Vettel we were 44 points behind Alonso, and we were able to catch up that deficit,” Marko reflects on the 2012 season. “So we’re not giving up yet, but it won’t be easy.”
