Red Bull 'Urgently' Needs Summer Break Says Helmut Marko

Tuesday, 23 July 2024 at 22:00

Speaking after the 13th round of the season in Hungary, Helmut Marko suggested Red Bull "urgently" needs the fast-approaching summer break.

During the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez finished in P5 and P7, respectively. Consequently, the gap between the Austrian team and McLaren (who finished P1 and P2) narrowed to 51 points.

The race at Hungaroring wasn't very successful for the team from Milton Keynes. One of their drivers lost it in qualifying and had to start from the back and the other one was put on a wrong strategy.

There is one more race before the summer break (this week's Belgian Grand Prix), and Red Bull will undoubtedly retain their P1 in the Championship even if both of their drivers DNF.

However, McLaren is catching up to them, and there are still ten more races to go after the summer break. Speaking to Austrian broadcaster ORF, Helmut Marko asserted the break is very much needed in Red Bull at the moment.

"We urgently need it [the summer break]. In the first three races, we thought we were going to have a similar season to last year, but then suddenly, there was the turnaround."

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"Max is not used to that, and we are also not used enough to the fact that you have to fight hard with competitors."

The team from Milton Keynes no longer has the fastest car despite huge upgrades introduced during the British and Hungarian Grand Prix.

The close battle at the front is certainly entertaining for F1 fans but not so much for the team that is leading, as Marko explained. He added:

"That's something that makes it better for fans and journalists, of course, but we have to endure that situation and eventually master the situation."

"We're still in the lead in both championships. There are still a lot of races, so we shouldn't pretend that everything is lost. But we absolutely cannot afford the small and easy mistakes."