A “depressing” pace at Red Bull according to Helmut Marko
The Austrian pointed to the single-seater's lack of performance against the McLarens. Fourth at the finish line, Max Verstappen finished more than 40 seconds behind pole-sitter Oscar Piastri.

It’s a harsh reality to swallow. Since the start of the season, McLaren has been the team to beat. However, some teams have already managed to stand up to them, notably Red Bull. The Austrian team managed to win a race in Japan, thanks to Max Verstappen. This weekend, the Dutch driver once again outpaced the two orange cars during qualifying. While there was hope of clinching a second victory this season, the race was a completely different story with a “depressing” pace, according to Helmut Marko.
Yet, everything had started well for the four-time world champion. He managed to maintain his first place at the first corner and defended his position aggressively at the second corner, pushing Lando Norris to the outside and allowing Kimi Antonelli to take second place. However, a threat was quickly identified: Oscar Piastri. The Australian, leader of the championship, quickly got past the Italian driver and after a multi-lap battle, managed to overtake the Dutchman on the 14th lap. Four laps later, the former Toro Rosso driver was overtaken by the other McLaren.
A pace well below that of the McLarens
While he seemed poised to comfortably secure another podium, the intervention of the virtual safety car due to Oliver Bearman’s retirement allowed George Russell to exit the pits ahead of the Dutchman. Ultimately finishing fourth, Max Verstappen lamented a lack of grip on his Red Bull and malfunctioning brakes that cost him more than seven-tenths per lap compared to the two McLaren drivers. Despite having the same strategy as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, the Red Bull driver finished more than 40 seconds behind the Australian.
A situation that quickly prompted a reaction from Helmut Marko. Interviewed just after the Grand Prix, the advisor of the Milton Keynes team described the race pace gap between Red Bull and McLaren as depressing. The main conclusion is that we are too slow, he admitted in comments relayed by Autosport. We saw, when they were pushing full out, that we were seven-tenths behind. We saw the real performance for the first time. We absolutely need to find performance quickly, but it was depressing to see how fast the McLarens are.
A necessary development to try to catch up with McLaren
The Austrian team has already planned to introduce several upgrades at the next Grand Prix in two weeks in Imola, right after already developing a new flat floor this weekend in Miami. Despite everything, Helmut Marko admitted that the gap being so significant, it will be difficult to bridge it this season, especially on hot circuits, which demand a lot from the tires, tracks where Red Bull struggles more. When asked if the next package of upgrades would be enough, he replied: « It must be, but such a big step is hard to catch up. »
Despite everything, McLaren has proven in recent seasons that such a leap forward is possible, especially since from Barcelona onwards, the flexibility of the front wings will be closely monitored. A trend that could cause the Woking team to lose performance and give this end of the season an even more interesting dimension.