Marko Reveals Red Bull Now Struggles With Similar Problem To Mercedes

Sunday, 26 May 2024 at 22:00

Red Bull's motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, revealed after qualifying at Circuit de Monaco that his team struggles with issues similar to Mercedes.

The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix shaped up to be Red Bull's worst weekend of the season after the disappointing qualifying session on Saturday.

However, all Red Bull's problems were apparent from the first practice session on Friday. The RB20 can't deal with the bumpy surface and kerbs of the track in Monaco, as well as McLarens or Ferraris, for example.

Helmut Marko revealed after Saturday's qualifying that the issue is even bigger and runs even deeper than it seems, as the team doesn't understand where it comes from.

Apparently, Red Bull's computer simulations suggest their RB20 shouldn't struggle with the kerbs. Yet it does. Although Mercedes has a different problem, the German team also cannot understand it as their computer simulations show something different.

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So, two teams with different problems from the outside essentially struggle with the same underlying issue. Marko said to Sky Germany:

"The season began with the idea that it would be a great success. And then there was the first disappointment in Australia."

"But the fundamental problem is not the circuits. It is that the correlation between the simulator and the track is not working. On the simulator, we drive over the curbstones without any problems."

What makes this problem worse for Red Bull is that they cannot fix this problem with a different car setup throughout the weekend.

What's more, Max Verstappen suggested that he doesn't know if the team from Milton Keynes will be able to fix it this year. Marko added:

"And to use an expression from Max, the car bounces like a kangaroo, and that's the problem. And this has already become apparent in the setup for Miami and partly in Imola."