Bad News For Verstappen: Marko Issues Worrying Verdict Ahead Of Dutch Grand Prix
F1Monday, 19 August 2024 at 14:00
Red Bull's Helmut Marko revealed how he expects Red Bull's performance to develop, and Max Verstappen might not want to hear this.
Red Bull went into the summer break with declining performance (in comparison to their rivals) and a streak of four races without a victory, during which Max Verstappen scored only one podium.
Although the team still stands first in both Championships, if this trend continues, it might not remain that way until the end of the season.
Even the triple World Champion himself, who leads the drivers' championship by 78 points, suggested he doesn't feel as if he has it in his pocket and that he expects a tough battle until the end of the season.
One thing that was clear was that the team from Milton Keynes needed to fix their car during the summer break. However, Helmut Marko warned in his column for Speedweek that it wouldn't be that easy.
"During the summer break, nothing happens for two weeks, which means that no work can be done on the car."
"We have to solve our problems and find out where the problem lies, because we no longer have the balance in the car if you compare the current situation with the first three races. But it is difficult to estimate how quickly that will happen."
What will be bad news for the 26-year-old is that Red Bull will likely not introduce their solution to current struggles until after the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix- where Verstappen would love to score a win in front of his home crowd.
"I don't think that the big solution will come in Zandvoort. We are brainstorming intensively and have various ideas. But I can't say yet what we will implement and how."
What gives Marko and Red Bull hope for the Dutch Grand Prix is that qualifying at Circuit Zandvoort will be crucial, and Verstappen's qualifying record in 2024 has been impressively consistent.
If he manages to secure a front-row start, the Dutchman might be able to hold on to his position during the Grand Prix race on Sunday even without the fastest car on the grid.
"One thing is clear: Qualifying in Zandvoort will be crucial, because overtaking is almost impossible there. And Max could well manage a good qualifying, because he has been good there recently."
"We were the fastest in Austria and also in Spa. In Hungary, we were only a few hundredths of a second off."
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