Red Bull’s Helmut Marko says the problems the team are suffering are “very serious” and he questioned whether they would ever be able to make up their current deficit.
The championship team is lagging behind its rivals in not only performance, but reliability too – which could prove a more important factor than speed during the early races.
Speaking to Red Bull’s Servus TV, Marko suggested the team were more than two months behind schedule with their programme and admitted that would be very hard to recover.
“The season opener is coming at least two months too early for us,” said the outspoken Austrian.
![Franco Colpinto [front] avoided Liam Lawson [back] at the start of the Australian GP](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Franco-Colapinto-F1-Aus-GP-120x86.webp)
“We are not where we should be”, he added. “This is a very, very serious thing.
“At the moment we do not know what [time] period we will need to catch up, or whether we will at all.”
The first practice session for the season opening Australian Grand Prix takes place on March 14th.
![Franco Colpinto [front] avoided Liam Lawson [back] at the start of the Australian GP](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Franco-Colapinto-F1-Aus-GP-350x250.webp)
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