Former Red Bull Advisor Helmut Marko sides with Max Verstappen as he believes Formula 1 is losing its “focus” with the latest 2026 cars.
George Russell cruised to victory, as his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli slotted behind him to secure a Mercedes 1-2, at the opening race of the 2026 campaign, at the Albert Park Circuit.
Verstappen, on the other hand, saw his worst fears come true with the RB21. The four-time World Champion had signalled his discontent with the new engine formula, and it bit him hard in Melbourne.
A suspected software issue saw Verstappen lock the rear wheels on his Red Bull on his very first flying lap in Q1, sending him barrelling into the barriers and out of Qualifying.
The 58-lap race was no different, in terms of suffering for the 28-year-old, who despite making a stellar comeback to take the chequered flag in sixth, starting the race in 18th, was stuck behind the gearbox of Lando Norris for the majority of the race.
After the Grand Prix, Verstappen doubled-down on his criticisms of the 2026 cars. Marko seems to agree but erred on the side of caution before delivering his final verdict.
“I think we need to give it a bit more time. It will get better,” he told GPBlog.
Be that as it may, the Austrian’s optimism didn’t cloud the reality he believes F1 is moving towards.
The former racing driver highlighted how, in its current form, the sport is losing its “focus” in terms of driver skill and is becoming more like a playground for engineers to battle it out.
“What I don’t like is that the focus is shifting more and more to the engineers, saying ‘now you have power, now you have a better engine.’,” added Marko.
“So the original skill of the driver is not so much the focus anymore at the moment.”
Marko sees Mercedes domination as the norm in 2026
The Australian GP saw a dominant performance by the Silver Arrows, who would be glad that the ground effects era is now well and truly over.
Russell was almost eight tenths quicker than next non-Mercedes car, down the grid, during Qualifying.
In the race, the Briton was comfortably ahead of a chasing Charles Leclerc, after spending an intense opening few laps trading the lead with the Monegasque.
Marko believes the Brackley-based team to be the benchmark of the field and hopes the others catch up quickly to them.
“Let’s see if they can change it, or if everyone can be on the same level, because this weekend the Mercedes was so much faster than anybody else,” he continued.
“I think it’s more about getting to know the engines, even though the tyre wear on the McLarens, and also on the Red Bull, was not at the level of Mercedes.
“So Mercedes is ahead engine-wise and chassis-wise. So it will get closer, but you saw Max couldn’t overtake Lando [Norris]. That’s because if two have the same speed and you don’t make a mistake, [nothing happens], as you saw with Leclerc and Russell.”
The Chinese GP sprint weekend will, however, be a true testament to whether Mercedes do indeed have an out rightly superior package or if the German marque was just able to optimise its car better than everyone else in Melbourne, last weekend.
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