Red Bull seeking 'clarity' as Helmut Marko comment on title chances says it all (original) (raw)

Helmut Marko comment says it all as McLaren overtake Red Bull in F1 title race

Red Bull F1 adviser Helmut Marko gave his verdict on the team's constructors' championship chances after losing top spot in the standings to McLaren in Azerbaijan

Red Bull Racing adviser Helmut Marko

Helmut Marko said he has written off Red Bull's chances of successfully defending their Formula 1 constructors' title.

Oscar Piastri's victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and Lando Norris' rise to fourth place from 15th on the grid was enough for McLaren to summit the standings for the first time since 2014. And Red Bull have not been anywhere but in first place since early in the 2022 season.

But they have now dropped to second, 20 points behind the Woking-based squad. And they are also under threat from Ferrari who have found form again and are only 31 points adrift.

Max Verstappen still leads the drivers' championship, 59 points clear of Norris with seven rounds remaining. Long-serving team adviser Marko is looking wholly to that title fight as Red Bull's only chance of glory this year.

Asked if he feels the constructors' title is beyond Red Bull now, the Austrian replied: "To be honest, yes." And though he still believes Verstappen can get the job done, he feels the team will have to address their car issues quickly to give him the chance.

Marko added: "The positive thing is that Oscar Piastri is close to Lando Norris in terms of points and there are team orders within McLaren. Therefore, clarity will not follow so quickly.

"Max couldn't even hook it up [in Baku]. The tyres failed and the temperatures of the brakes went up. The car has potential, but the setup is still very sensitive. The progress will not be seen in Singapore - we'll just have to see how we get through that race, but we really need to do better from Austin, otherwise the drivers' championship will also be in jeopardy."

Max Verstappen's drivers' title defence is likely Red Bull's only championship chance this year (

Image:

Getty Images)

Red Bull had looked stronger in practice ahead of the Baku race, but Verstappen described how the car went away from him again when it mattered. He explained: "What I experienced also in qualifying was the problem for me in the race, where the car was jumping around a lot in all the low-speed corners.

"My wheels were literally coming off the ground and then of course you lose contact patch with the tarmac, which you don't want. And that then caused me to slide a lot more, overheat the tyres more, and there was no way to drive around it. So the pace was just a bit all over the place.

"I think the changes that we did to the car, they were positive. But then you still need to, of course, also put a setup on the car. I think we were heading in the right direction, but then the change that we made before qualifying then tipped it over the edge and we paid the price for that in the race, unfortunately."

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