Helmut Marko has all but thanked McLaren for their help
Red Bull suffered a double blow in Baku, not only losing the lead in the Constructors’ Championship but they have also been hindered in the development of the RB20.
Despite bolting a new floor onto the RB20 and drawing first blood in the opening practice on Friday, Red Bull left Azerbaijan with just 10 points on the board after a wretched Sunday.
Red Bull scored just 10 points at the Azerbaijan GP
Having struggled with bouncing in qualifying, Max Verstappen wasn’t able to make big gains in the Grand Prix and finished in fifth place.
He made up two positions on the penultimate lap when his team-mate Sergio Perez crashed with Carlos Sainz as they battled for a podium finish, both drivers in the wall and out of the race.
Verstappen complained of a lack of grip and fell behind his title rival Lando Norris after the Briton’s long first stint on the hard tyres gave him the tyre life on the mediums late on to pass Verstappen for position. He also claimed the fastest lap point.
On a day when McLaren finished first and fourth, Red Bull relinquished the lead in the Constructors’ Championship. It’s a lead Marko doesn’t expect to regain.
“To be honest, yes,” he told Sky Deutschland when asked if he’d given up on the teams’ trophy.
In fact, Red Bull’s silver lining right now is that McLaren, despite all the chatter in the build-up to Baku about backing Norris, have two drivers firmly in the hunt after Oscar Piastri’s 25 points for the win.
Piastri has outscored Norris and Verstappen in the seven races since the Red Bull driver’s latest victory back at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Is Oscar Piastri becoming a title contender?#F1 #OscarPiastri #McLaren #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/Si8q5VudNe
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) September 15, 2024
“The positive thing is that Piastri is very close to Lando in terms of points,” Marko added. “So whether it’s a team or a papaya order, there won’t be any clarity any time soon.”
Next up on the calendar is the Singapore Grand Prix, a race where Red Bull struggled last season with their ground-effect aerodynamic car.
The team had been hoping to use the race to “test” new parts but, with Perez’s crash, may have to push that back.
“It’s a massive setback for us,” Marko bemoaned.
“We’ll certainly be able to get the car ready, but not in the form we planned. The test we had planned for Singapore is now no longer possible. It’s a massive setback.”
Following Baku, Red Bull trail McLaren by 20 points with Ferrari only a further 31 off the pace. It has Ralf Schumacher declaring even P2 may be difficult for the reigning World Champions.
“I think that Red Bull will finish third at most in the teams’ standings if things continue like this. Ferrari has a good car. It will be tight for Red Bull to hold on to second place,” he said.
Verstappen, however, still holds a 59-point advantage over Norris with 206 points in play in the Drivers’ Championship.