Marko expresses Red Bull 'hurt': 'That's a new kitchen for some'

Marko summarised the weekend blunty. "Actually, everything went wrong." Verstappen started with engine problems in Friday practice, Perez failed to escape Q1 on Saturday and didn't complete a recovery race on Sunday. Meanwhile, Verstappen took two ten-second penalties and had his World Championship lead reduced.

That wasn't all though. With a double podium for Ferrari on the back of a one-two in the United States, the Italian team has moved to second. This has pushed Red Bull down to third. "That hurts," Marko acknowledged to ORF. That will cost prize money, and therefore team bonuses, if it stays like that when the chequered flag drops in Abu Dhabi. "For many it means a new kitchen, for example."

Where are there still opportunities for Verstappen?

Red Bull did not win any of the last 10 Grands Prix and so things are not looking so rosy towards the end of the year. Of the four Grands Prix remaining, Marko thinks Red Bull can still compete for wins at two circuits. That should happen in Qatar and Las Vegas, he told Sky. "Qatar is the most likely place [to win]." In Brazil and Abu Dhabi, the RB20 would have less of a chance, according to the 81-year-old Austrian.

Still, Marko is cautiously optimistic, knowing Red Bull will be closer to the competition if it has a "normal" run-up to qualifying and the race. "Then we will not be as far away from the leaders as we are this time. But it is no secret that we are currently losing heavily in slow corners, especially on Ferrari and McLaren."

This article has been created in collaboration with Corwin Kunst