P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Max Verstappen had to settle for second place at the Dutch Grand Prix, with Helmut Marko moving to explain the “alarming” gap to race winner Lando Norris.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko expressed concern over the team’s significant performance gap to McLaren following the Dutch Grand Prix, where Lando Norris secured a dominant victory over Max Verstappen. Verstappen’s winless streak now extends to five races, with Red Bull’s rivals narrowing the gap in recent events. Marko admitted McLaren’s superiority at Zandvoort, acknowledging their impressive display in both qualifying and the race. He noted that Red Bull struggled with pace and tire wear, as evidenced by Norris easily overtaking Verstappen in the closing laps.
Marko highlighted the disparity in performance between Perez and Verstappen, suggesting that perhaps Red Bull’s setup choices hindered their competitiveness against McLaren. Verstappen faced challenges with tire degradation during the race, preventing him from keeping up with Norris. Marko emphasized that the team must address the issues exposed at the Dutch Grand Prix and use them as motivation for improvement moving forward. Despite the setbacks, he attributed some of the struggles to track conditions and lower temperatures, indicating that there are lessons to be learned from McLaren’s strong performance.
