Helmut Marko gives exact date when Red Bull will catch McLaren

Helmut Marko has given Red Bull Formula 1 fans a cause for hope, and provided the exact date when the team will catch their rivals McLaren.

Any dreams of snatching the constructors’ championship back from McLaren will have evaporated after their dominant display at the Australian Grand Prix, where Lando Norris secured his fifth career victory ahead of Max Verstappen.

However, Verstappen’s close finish behind Norris was not guaranteed, as the Dutchman benefitted from the wet weather and a spin from Oscar Piastri hiding what had been a difficult weekend for Red Bull.

At one point in the race Verstappen dropped 16-seconds behind leaders Norris and Piastri who set the pace at the front, and complained after the race that he was struggling for tyre grip.

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What a difference a week makes however, as Verstappen entered the first sprint race of the season second on the grid, behind pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton, and crucially ahead of both Norris and Piastri who started in sixth and third respectively.

Interestingly, Verstappen waited until the end of the session to complete his flying lap in SQ3 when the track had ramped up considerably, and Norris also made 'too many mistakes' during qualifying by his own admission - making the result less indicative of Red Bull's actual pace.

Lawson also currently acts as a barrier to Red Bull’s constructors' championship success, with the 23-year-old suffering a Q1 exit in Melbourne and then enduring double disappointment in Shanghai after being knocked out of SQ1 on Saturday and lining up P20 on the grid for Sunday's race.

The Kiwi is yet to score a point and is evidently struggling behind the wheel of the RB21; alongside Verstappen outperforming the potential of the car, making it difficult to assess where Red Bull truly sit in the order.

During Saturday's sprint race, the Dutchman looked to have the upper hand over Aussie star Piastri, but after running out of tyre, the papaya driver stormed past Verstappen's Red Bull with just four laps to go, with McLaren machinery beating Christian Horner's outfit once again.

However, Red Bull F1 advisor Marko has offered a glimmer of hope for his team ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix this Sunday, providing the exact date they will join McLaren at the front for the championship fight.

"We've reduced their advantage from half a second to two or three tenths . We can keep up with them for six to eight laps, but after that, we'll lose ground more quickly," he said to Spanish publication Marca after the Australian GP.

"In three to five races, we'll be able to overcome this, and then we'll have a car that's on par with them.”

If the Austrian's predictions are to be believed, Red Bull could put themselves back in championship contention at either Bahrain, Jeddah or Miami, the latter proving a strong track for McLaren last season with Norris claiming his maiden career victory.

Only time will tell whether the papaya outfit would have gained too much of an early lead on Red Bull by then or not, with four-time champion Verstappen continuing to bemoan the state of his Red Bull and newbie Lawson struggling to extract any kind of performance out of the car.

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