P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Max Verstappen secured second at Zandvoort, although Red Bull remains a comfortable distance from McLaren.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko revealed that Max Verstappen faced a “huge” pace deficit in his fight against McLaren in the Dutch Grand Prix.
Verstappen overtook Lando Norris for second on the opening lap of his home race but fell back behind shortly after.
Despite Red Bull’s efforts and fitting Verstappen with the best tyres, the team was still a full second slower per lap compared to McLaren.
A late power unit failure for Norris promoted Verstappen to second place, which Marko described as “surprising” but acknowledged the significant performance gap with McLaren.
Marko emphasized that McLaren was able to drive away at a second per lap when needed, indicating that Red Bull still has a lot of work to do to improve their pace and competitiveness in future races.
