P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko feels Max Verstappen is in the mix this Italian GP weekend, providing McLaren does not throw a spanner in the works.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has noticed a clear improvement in Max Verstappen’s performance compared to 12 months ago, when Verstappen struggled with an “undriveable monster” car at Monza and faced tough competition from McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Despite finishing sixth in practice behind Norris and championship leader Oscar Piastri, Marko is confident that Verstappen will be competitive and McLaren may not have an easy victory like in Zandvoort.
The RB21 showed strong pace during long runs, and Marko expressed satisfaction with the team’s progress since last year, highlighting the need for slight improvements on soft tires for qualifying.
Verstappen’s feedback to engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and Red Bull’s constant push to test the car’s limits indicate a positive direction in setup adjustments.
Marko believes they have identified areas for improvement and expressed optimism for the upcoming races, with a small deficit in performance serving as motivation for the team to push harder.
