Helmut Marko clashes with Max Verstappen over Red Bull complaints after Italian GP

In an interview with the Austrian media outlet ORF, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko looked back on the Italian Grand Prix. According to the former Austrian driver, the difference with teams such as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes was not that bad during the Italian GP. According to Max Verstappen, however, he cannot compete for both world titles with the current gap to the top.

For the Red Bull team, the race weekend in Northern Italy did not go according to plan. While there seemed to be some speed in the RB20 before Qualifying, that speed had completely vanished in the final and decisive qualifying session (Q3). Verstappen and Red Bull colleague Sergio Pérez did not get further than a meager seventh and eighth place, almost seven tenths of a second behind polesitter Lando Norris.

Tough times at Red Bull

In last Sunday's race, things did not go much better for the two Red Bull drivers. Despite a different strategy (Verstappen and Perez were the only drivers from the top teams to start on the hard tyre), Red Bull was unable to compete with the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes. After 53 laps, Verstappen crossed the line in sixth place, almost 38 seconds behind race winner Charles Leclerc. Perez finished the Italian Grand Prix in eighth place.

Due to his sixth place and Norris' third place (plus fastest race lap), Verstappen has once again lost points to Norris in the battle for the drivers' championship. Norris' gap to Verstappen is currently at 62 points, but given the current difference in speed between Red Bull and McLaren, that gap could shrink considerably. Especially now that Red Bull has two difficult races coming up - Azerbaijan and Singapore.

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Marko clashes with Verstappen on Italian GP verdict

While Verstappen was very hard on Red Bull's management after the race (he told Viaplay that he would not be able to win any more races this way and that winning both world championships was therefore "not realistic"), Marko struck a completely different tone. The former driver was of the opinion that the gap to the top of the field was not that bad.

"Our lack of speed was not that noticeable. It could have been a lot worse, but the gap to the top is about the same as during the Dutch GP", Marko began.

"We know that there are big problems and (the gap with McLaren, ed.) does not help. We have to go back to the point where we took a wrong turn, so that we can get the balance back in the car. Then hopefully everything will look a lot better", the Red Bull advisor concluded.