Red Bull continues to work hard to find a solution that will fix its balance issues and allow Max Verstappen to comfortably win races again. Unfortunately for them, that seems unlikely for the Dutch GP. Chief Advisor Helmut Marko, however, noticed something different about McLaren.
Marko spoke about tire wear. He stated that McLaren would be their main rival for the weekend because Mercedes seemed to have more issues with degradation. However, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were not showing similar results, and that caught the Austrian’s eye.
“It is also different between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. The tire wear is very peculiar,” he added. Red Bull’s eyes would be on McLaren at the Dutch GP weekend, particularly because the Woking-based team is just 42 points behind.
If Piastri and Norris outperform Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez, the gap could go down even further, leaving Red Bull in danger of losing out on P1 next weekend in Monza. Marko, however, is confident that Red Bull can put up a fight in Zandvoort.
Red Bull didn’t show its true pace in practice
During the summer break, Marko revealed that Red Bull would not have solutions ready in time for the Dutch GP. But going by his comments, Red Bull shouldn’t struggle as much come Qualifying.
While speaking to Motorsport Magazin, Marko insisted that they looked good for Saturday’s second session. “We did not drive at full power [on Friday],” he said. He also added, “If you are ahead in the race, it doesn’t really matter if you lose a few more tenths.”
First post-summer break FP1 done and dusted
Limited track time in tricky conditions ☔️#F1 || #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/NETB98nknL
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 23, 2024
Verstappen finished P2 in FP1, behind Norris, and will be hoping for a change in fortune on Saturday. Since the Dutch GP returned to the calendar in 2021, Verstappen has won all three races. Making it four in a row will be difficult, but the 26-year-old will leave no stone unturned in trying to make it happen.
