McLaren’s recent superiority is not a good sign for Red Bull’s championship hopes.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is concerned that McLaren’s Formula 1 advantage has recently transformed into a “whole new world,” and reigning world champion Max Verstappen is similarly puzzled.
Lando Norris was unbeatable at the recent Singapore Grand Prix, finishing 21 seconds ahead of three-time champion Verstappen after outpacing him by 0.2 seconds in qualifying. During the race, this gap had grown to 29 seconds.
This continued Red Bull and Verstappen’s eight-race winless streak, during which Verstappen has only managed one pole position and three podiums, while McLaren secured four pole positions, four victories, and eleven podiums.
Verstappen and Marko had a “long conversation” on the phone last Tuesday, where Red Bull’s performance issues relative to McLaren were discussed.
When asked what his driver said during that conversation in an interview with Autosport’s sister publication Formel1.de, Marko replied: “Well, Lando’s advantage seemed alien to him, especially on medium tires, where he gained nine tenths to one second per lap over us.”
“Even if our car had been optimized, it wouldn’t have been able to achieve those times on medium tires. We’re all wondering how he managed it.”
“When Norris was taking 0.9 to one second per lap from us, that’s a whole new world. Keep in mind, Leclerc was as fast as Lando, or maybe even a little faster in the second lap. So, you could say second place felt almost like a victory for us.”
While McLaren has continued its strong form by sticking to the same floor design since May’s Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull made a “thin” update before the Baku and Marina Bay races.
Marko commented on Red Bull’s updated floor: “It’s a step in the right direction but not enough.”
“They worked very, very hard and gained some insights. It wasn’t a completely new floor, but parts of it were updated. However, I think the decisive factor will be our performance in Austin, and there’s more to come.”
Team principal Christian Horner described the Monza race as “the lowest point” for Red Bull after Verstappen finished sixth, 38 seconds behind race winner Leclerc. Marko agreed, saying it was “more than just a wake-up call.”
Marko stated, “This was the worst race I can remember where we got everything wrong — strategy, pit stops, speed.”
“But now we are on the right track. The car needs to have a broader working window so that relatively small changes or six- to seven-degree temperature differences don’t affect performance.”
“And we need more speed and more flexibility for Max to attack. We know he needs a car that is responsive at the front. Just relying on finishing second is not enough,” referring to the possibility of Verstappen settling for second place in every remaining race to win the drivers’ championship.
However, with Red Bull trailing McLaren by 41 points and having scored 119 fewer points over the last six races — largely due to Sergio Perez failing to finish any race in the top five since Miami — Marko admitted that this championship fight is likely over with their current performance.
“However, I am optimistic that things will look different again if Max wins another race and Sergio secures third or fourth place,” Marko said.
“But for now, our primary focus is on the Drivers’ Championship.”
“And if we manage to achieve that — which I believe is only possible if Max wins at least two more races — then the Constructors’ Championship will also start to look a bit more promising,” he added.
