Red Bull F1 boss delivers damning Max Verstappen comparison in ‘DRASTIC’ admission

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Red Bull boss delivers damning Verstappen comparison in ‘DRASTIC’ admission

Marko has provided a damning Max Verstappen comparison

Jay Winter

Saturday 21 September 2024 10:56

Red Bull Racing find themselves in dire straits ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, with the reigning champions having fallen behind McLaren in the constructors' standings.

Team advisor Helmut Marko has delivered a scathing assessment of Max Verstappen's performance in a telling admission of the RB20's struggles.

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The three-time champion finished Friday's second practice session in a dismal 15th place, a staggering 1.294 seconds behind pace-setter and championship rival Lando Norris.

Adding insult to injury, Williams' driver Franco Colapinto managed to clock in just 0.036 seconds slower than Verstappen, a lot closer to the Red Bull than the team would have hoped.

Marko, known for his no-nonsense approach, offered a sobering assessment at the end of the day. "Nothing is working on Max's car," he declared.

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Marko, who is also head of Red Bull's illustrious driver development programme, said: "He's [Verstappen's] getting no grip on either the soft or hard tyres, and there's absolutely no balance."

The Austrian didn't mince words when describing the gravity of the situation.

"At the moment, I'd say the situation is very concerning," he emphasised.

"We definitely need to try something drastic now. Let's see what we can come up with."

F1 rookie Franco Colapinto wasn't far off the pace of Max Verstappen's RB20

Red Bull's RB20 has suffered with balance issues for a while now, with their star driver failing to win any of the last seven grands prix.

"We're running at the same pace as Colapinto," admitted Marko.

This unforeseen crisis puts Red Bull's dominant run in jeopardy, with rival teams potentially seeing an opportunity to close the gap in the championship standings.

As the paddock buzzes with speculation, all eyes will be on the Milton Keynes-based outfit to see if they can pull off a miraculous turnaround before the 2024 season wraps up.

With Verstappen's RB20 seemingly in disarray and Marko calling for drastic measures, the Singapore Grand Prix weekend looks like it could be yet another race to forget for the Dutchman.

Max Verstappen McLaren FIA Helmut Marko Singapore Grand Prix Red Bull Racing