Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has predicted the team will possess the pace to beat McLaren in Formula 1 on merit from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix next month.
The Austrian squad delivered the desired response to its nightmare weekend in Bahrain as Max Verstappen returned to the podium in Saudi Arabia with second place.
Verstappen lined up on pole position and would have been poised to translate that into the win without the time penalty he incurred for an incident on the opening lap.
The Dutchman was determined to have obtained an advantage when a wheel-to-wheel moment with Oscar Piastri at the start saw him cut Turn 2 to maintain the lead.
Red Bull argued that Verstappen had been ahead at the apex and had earned the right to the first turn, but elected not to protest what it deemed a “harsh” punishment.
Elaborating upon the Red Bull camp’s outrage at the stewards’ decision, Marko highlighted how similar incidents across the weekend in Formula 2 went undisciplined.
“I think it was a racing incident,” Marko told Motorsport.com
“If you watched F2, the same situation happened three or four times, and only [Luke] Browning got a warning. Nobody got five seconds.
“Here, it was in the first lap, first corner. For me, it was a racing [incident].”
But while the win evaded him, Verstappen was heartened that Red Bull harboured the pace to have Piastri’s more-fancied McLaren covered until he served his penalty.
Marko concurred that Red Bull’s competitiveness in race trim transpired to be better than anticipated amid the concerning consensus that Verstappen would struggle.
“Max had the speed, and the positive thing is, our tyres did behave very well, we didn’t have any degradation,” he pinpointed.
“We were surprised, but positively surprised – and it was on both the Medium and the Hard [tyres].”
Did Jeddah conceal Red Bull weaknesses?
However, the Austrian, 81, has recognised that the Jeddah Corniche Circuit’s high-speed characteristics and smooth asphalt complemented Red Bull’s RB21 machine.
“Compared to Bahrain [where Verstappen laboured to sixth], we made a big progress, but also this circuit suits us better – faster corners and so on,” he explained.
“We are moving forward and getting a car which is more predictable and is also working in a wider range.”
Red Bull banking on upgrades to close McLaren gap
Red Bull is banking on a substantial update package being introduced at Imola to eliminate the RB21’s limitations and close the gap to McLaren’s pacesetting MCL39.
Marko has estimated that the overall gain the new parts are tipped to bring ought to elevate the side into direct contention with the reigning Constructors’ Champions.
“We will have small steps, and I think by Imola we should be in a position that we also have the speed to beat the McLarens,” he assessed.
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