Helmut Marko has written off Red Bull’s hopes of winning the Constructors’ Championship title in a worrying sign for Max Verstappen. It has been a difficult campaign for the six-time champions, who have slipped down the order with McLaren steaming ahead of the chasing pack. Red Bull have only managed two victories, both of which came from Verstappen.
The flexi-wing clampdown at the Spanish Grand Prix offered hope that Red Bull would be able to up the ante against McLaren. In fact, it seemed to have the opposite effect with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris claiming a dominant one-two finish. It has prompted Marko to throw in the towel regarding Red Bull’s hopes of securing Constructors’ Championship glory.
Writing in his column for Speedweek, the 82-year-old said: “After three consecutive race weekends, we have just over a third of the season behind us and unfortunately the interim balance is not good.
“The big disappointment was that we did not get any closer to McLaren even after the stricter wing tests. We are still three to four tenths of a second behind. We had hoped that we would be able to catch up in Barcelona, but unfortunately that was not the case.
“McLaren has not only stayed at the top, but the rest have come closer together. Mercedes and Ferrari have caught up with us and the midfield as a whole has also moved forward. Fortunately, the two McLaren drivers alternate at the top.
“Sometimes it is Oscar Piastri who is in the lead, sometimes Lando Norris, and there are still 15 rounds of the world championship to go. Still, we are 49 points behind the leader in the World Championship, which is a huge gap.”
Marko added that Yuki Tsunoda’s slow start to life at Red Bull has all but ended their chances of silverware, even if Verstappen manages to start winning again.
“If we don’t improve, our chances of winning the World Championship will disappear at some point. In the Constructors’ standings, we have already written off the final victory, we no longer have a chance there.
“Of course, that also has to do with the second driver, because Yuki Tsunoda is only getting going slowly.”
Red Bull will be desperate to close the gap to McLaren after a two-week break at next weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. After that, they will head to Austria for their home race before returning to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.