Helmut Marko, Red Bull advisor, is concerned about the advantage displayed by McLaren when entering the last quarter of the 2024 F1 season, while Lando Norris came back to 52 points behind a Max Verstappen who was also amazed by the performances of the Woking team in the drivers’ standings.
It must be said that the Briton had a resounding success in Singapore, despite two small scares, winning with a 21-second lead at the finish, at the end of an event where the gap increased all the way. almost 30 seconds. It was Red Bull’s eighth consecutive race without a victory, Verstappen having not lifted the winner’s trophy since the Spanish GP.
Marko revealed that he had a “longue conversation” with the three-time world champion in the days following the night race. In an interview for Formel1.de, sister publication of Motorsport.com in Germany, the Austrian was questioned about the nature of the exchanges with his pilot: “Well, [il m’a dit] that Norris’ domination came from elsewhere, especially with the medium tires; it took us nine tenths to one second per lap.”
“Even if our car had been, let’s say, optimized, [Verstappen] could not achieve such times on the medium tires. And we all wonder how [Norris] did. When Norris takes us nine tenths to one second per lap, a whole different world looms on the horizon. And don’t forget that in the second relay, [Charles] Leclerc was as fast as Lando, if not a little faster. So for us, I would almost say second place was a victory.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo de: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images
Despite everything, the feeling in the Red Bull clan was that the urban events before the autumn break had allowed us to regain certainty, even if this did not necessarily translate spectacularly on the track. While McLaren has had the same floor since the Miami GP, which has been its strength, the Austrian structure has modified this part very slightly for Baku and Singapore.
“It’s a step in the right direction, but it’s not enough”said Marko about the stolen floor. “They worked very, very hard and gained some knowledge. It wasn’t a completely new floor, but parts of it were. But I think the deciding factor will be the performance in Austin, and there’s a lot of “More things to come.”
The end of the European season was particularly difficult for Red Bull, with a very difficult race at Monza, which Christian Horner did not hesitate to describe as “lowest point” of the season of the team he manages. A vision that Marko shares: “It was the worst race since… I don’t know, I can’t remember when we were so wrong in terms of strategy, pit stops, speed, everything.”
“But we are now on the right track. The car needs to have a wider operating window – not one where relatively small changes, or temperature differences of six or seven degrees, can affect performance. And then more speed and also more room for Max to attack. We know he needs a car with bite at the front because relying on coming second is not enough.
A reference to the fact that if Verstappen finished second in all the remaining races this season while Norris was successful, the Red Bull driver would still be titled.
Christian Horner et Helmut Marko
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
If Red Bull still has a strong chance of winning the drivers’ title with Verstappen, things now seem less well underway in the constructors’ standings, where McLaren has taken the advantage and already widened a gap of 41 points. Marko admits it will likely be difficult to reverse the trend “with the performance that [Red Bull a] Currently”.
“But I am optimistic and I think that if Max wins races again and Sergio [Pérez] can reach third or fourth place, then things will be different. However, for now, the focus is on the drivers’ world championship title. And if we succeed – and I think it will only be possible if Max wins at least two more races – then the situation will also be a little more promising for the constructors’ championship.
With Benjamin Vinel
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