Helmut Marko accuses F1 rivals of COPYING Red Bull

Helmut Marko at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

Latest F1 News

Marko accuses F1 rivals of COPYING Red Bull

The reigning champions' dominance appears to be coming to an end

Rhys Thomas

Wednesday 5 June 2024 13:57

Helmut Marko has claimed that part of the reason that certain teams have closed the gap on Red Bull this season is because they have copied the Milton Keynes' team interpretations of F1's regulations.

Red Bull stormed to consecutive constructors' titles in 2022 and 2023, with gaps of 205 and 451 points to second place respectively.

F1 Headlines: Schumacher 'forced to sell' personal items as driver provides cryptic HINT on future

Article continues under video

Early on in 2024, it seemed that the same fate would befall Red Bull's rivals this season as Max Verstappen cruised to victory in the opening two races, with teammate Sergio Perez second in both.

However, the last three weekends have been anything but smooth sailing for Red Bull. Lando Norris won for McLaren in Miami with some fortunate safety car timing, but his pace to close down Verstappen a week later in Imola proved that the Austrian team were no longer alone out front.

Red Bull and Max Verstappen have dominated F1 since 2022

Lando Norris' Miami win was the first sign of Red Bull's issues

Why is Red Bull's dominance teetering?

In Monaco, Red Bull had their worst weekend of the season. Struggling with the street circuit's bumps and layout, Perez was out in Q1 and was consequently caught up in a race-ending incident at the back, whilst Verstappen could only qualify and finish sixth as it was Ferrari's turn to take top spot.

The Scuderia lie just 24 points behind Red Bull, and Marko has listed numerous reasons for Red Bull Racing's fading dominance.

"We are now in our third year with the current regulations, and people copy," he told oe24.

"Some copy better, and you can see the result now at McLaren. Ferrari has also constantly developed further."

This may include how some teams are able to lower the car's rear on straights to increase top speed, something Red Bull nailed from the beginning of the new regulations in 2022.

AMuS' Michael Schmidt explains that "it was not until the third year that the competition reacted. Ferrari, Mercedes, Haas and Toro Rosso (Racing Bulls) now have similar systems.

"Ferrari's is said to be even better than the (Red Bull) original," he added, though perhaps surprisingly, McLaren are yet to make this step.

Sergio Perez's Monaco DNF summed up Red Bull's weekend

That said, Marko, now 81, noted that the "first fruits" from Rob Marshall's move from Red Bull to McLaren were apparent through the British team's upgrades. Marshall is now Chief Designer at McLaren having had a major role in Red Bull engineering from 2006 until the beginning of 2024.

The Red Bull director also pointed at correlation issues between the simulator and real life: "Our two drivers came to Monte Carlo enthusiastically and said that the car handled the kerbs really well. But as soon as they were in the car, they said: undriveable!"

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Lando Norris Sergio Perez Helmut Marko