Max Verstappen still has a chance of winning the Formula 1 World Drivers’ title in 2020 despite Mercedes’ strong start to the season, according to Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko.
Verstappen, who has picked up one race victory so far this year, currently sits 37 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
Red Bull entered the 2020 campaign with hopes of challenging for its first world championship since 2013, however Mercedes has held a clear advantage at most events so far, winning five out of the opening six grands prix.
In a discussion with SpeedWeek, Marko asserts that “Verstappen can still become world champion, that’s our goal for the season”, despite the tricky start to the campaign for the energy drink-backed squad.
Last time out in Spain, Hamilton dominated from lights out to the chequered flag, while Verstappen crossed the line in second place – but Marko has blamed set-up issues for Red Bull’s lack of pace in Barcelona.
“We were there on Friday with very good longruns on Mercedes’ level,” Marko said. “But in the race both tyre types overheated on the rear axle, so we had to reduce our speed.
“It was even worse for Albon than for Verstappen, because we had gone the wrong way in his setup as well.”
Marko also expects Red Bull will benefit from the ban of the power unit ‘party mode’ in qualifying, which is now expected to be introduced at the Italian Grand Prix in two weeks.
The Austrian outlined that it will “not only affect the qualification, but also the in-and-out laps and overtaking.”
Red Bull will bring upgrades to its car at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend in order to further reduce the gap to rivals Mercedes.
“We still have certain disadvantages due to our chassis, which is somewhat unpredictable because data from the wind tunnel is not reflected on the track,” Marko admitted.
“But we’re working hard on that. We’re bringing new parts to Belgium again, which should help to improve stability.
“We’re not even at the halfway point of the season now. And at some point the Mercedes winning streak must end.”
