Helmut Marko reveals Max Verstappen’s ‘alien’ concerns with ‘deciding factor’ on the horizon

Helmut Marko believes the United States Grand Prix could be the “deciding factor” in the F1 2024 World Championship as Red Bull look to close down McLaren’s “whole new world” advantage.

After two dominant seasons, Red Bull are staring down defeat in the Constructors’ Championship while Max Verstappen’s Drivers’ title hangs in the balance.

Helmut Marko reveals Max Verstappen conversation after Singapore

Forced onto the back foot when a misstep in their Hungarian Grand Prix upgrades created huge balance problems for the RB20, the team had to roll back on upgrades before they could move forward with a solution.

That – a revised floor – debuted in Baku where Sergio Perez came within laps of a first podium in 12 races, while one race later Verstappen was P2 in Singapore.

But that could only be billed as a bitter-sweet result as while he was runner-up to his title rival Lando Norris, he crossed the line 21 seconds down on the McLaren driver who at one point held a 30-second advantage.

The victory meant for the fourth race running Norris nibbled away at Verstappen’s lead in the Drivers’ standings, his advantage down to 52 points with 180 still available in F1 2024.

Marko revealed to Formel1.de that he spoke with Verstappen a few days after the race, with the Dutchman baffled by McLaren’s superiority at Marina Bay.

He said: “Lando’s dominance was alien, especially on the medium tyres – he took nine tenths to one second per lap from us.

“Even if our car had been, optimised, he couldn’t have driven those times on the medium. And we’re all wondering how he did it.

“When Norris takes nine tenths to one second per lap from us, then it’s a whole new world.”

F1 2024: The title race no one saw coming

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👉 The updated Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings after the Singapore Grand Prix

Austin could be the ‘deciding factor’ in the title race

Verstappen was also a boon in Singapore when Daniel Ricciardo, in his last appearance for Red Bull junior team VCARB, denied Norris the fastest lap point as he put in a late glory run to steal the bonus point.

That point could yet be what separates Verstappen and Norris come the final lap in Abu Dhabi in December as even if Norris wins everything from here on, and takes the fastest lap points, Verstappen only has to be P2 at each race to win the title by a single point.

Marko reckons with the revised floor Red Bull have taken a step towards recovering their lost form, but that their performance compared to McLaren at the next race in Austin could be decisive in whether or not they retain the titles.

“It [the floor] is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough,” Marko said. “They have worked very, very hard and have gained certain insights. It wasn’t a completely new floor, but parts of it were new.

“But I think the deciding factor will be performance in Austin, and there are a lot of other things coming.

“We are now on the right track. The car needs to have a wider operating window – not one where relatively small changes, or temperature differences of six or seven degrees, can affect performance.

“And then more speed and also more bandwidth so that Max can attack. We know that he needs a car with front-end bite. Because just relying on coming in second is not good enough.”

The 81-year-old is not giving up on regaining the lead in the Constructors’ but admits Red Bull need Perez to also fire.

“I’m optimistic that if Max wins races again and Sergio can then achieve third or fourth place, then things will look different again,” he said. “But the focus is primarily on the Drivers’ title for now.

“But if we achieve that – and I believe that’s only possible if Max wins at least two more races – then it will also look a bit more promising in the Constructors’ Championship.”

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