F1 News
Marko calls Red Bull RB20 a 'bitch': 'Only Verstappen can tame it'
- Nicole Mulder
Whereas Toto Wolff initially referred to the lacklustre W13 somewhat affectionately as a 'diva', he later switched to the word 'sh*tbox'. Similar words are now used by Helmut Marko, who says Red Bull Racing's RB20 has become a 'bitch'.
Marko: 'The RB20 has become a bitch that only Max can tame'
Red Bull started the 2024 Formula 1 season strongly, but Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez began to struggle more and more with the RB20 as the season progressed. Not only have teams like McLaren and Mercedes moved closer through improvements of their own, Red Bull's updates so far have not brought the hoped-for improvements.
Marko does put the team's performance dip into perspective somewhat. "We are better than our last results suggest. Without the bad pit stop at Spielberg, the collision with Lewis Hamilton in Hungary and the grid penalty at Spa, Max would be in better shape," the 81-year-old Austrian said in a conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport.
"At the beginning of the season, we had a car that was as balanced as the McLaren is now. It could handle all circuits and all conditions. Then we went down a wrong road somewhere. The car became a bitch that only Max can tame," reads Marko's harsh verdict. "The car became more and more unpredictable. It became harder and harder to tune it and get the balance right."
Marko warns: 'Highs came from Verstappen's superiority'
Of the past four races, Red Bull did not win a single one. Still, Verstappen occasionally managed to get something extra out of the F1 car, for example with pole times in Austria and Belgium. "Those were exceptional qualifying laps from Max. In the race, the superiority was gone. Like Mercedes at the beginning of the year, sometimes we are fast and sometimes slow, depending on the conditions. Sometimes it even changes in the same race like in Silverstone, where it rained in between," Marko continued.
The Red Bull advisor suspects that once the team has taken the leak - according to the German medium, a new development programme is planned from Monza onwards - Perez's performance will also improve again. This would have been a consideration in the decision to stick with the Mexican. "If the car is more predictable again, he will also find his speed again," Marko assured.
This article has been written in collaboration with Matt Gretton
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