Marko ’relieved’ Verstappen’s lead still so big

Dr Helmut Marko says he is "very confident" Red Bull can get its flagging Formula 1 season back on track.

The official story after Baku was that while Sergio Perez was on the pace with his modified floor design, Max Verstappen only struggled because of a pre-qualifying setup mistake.

But in Singapore practice on Friday, neither Red Bull driver was happy.

"We still lack a lot of balance," Mexican Perez said. "It’s quite difficult to complete a lap and it doesn’t look very good at the moment. We are almost a second off the pace."

Team advisor Dr Helmut Marko told Sky Deutschland: "Nothing was working on Max’s car. Right now I would say the situation is very worrying. We need to try something radical.

"When I looked, we had the same pace as (Franco) Colapinto!" he exclaimed.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, as Verstappen remains 59 points ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship, and a major car upgrade is scheduled for the next race in Austin.

"We still need to get through Singapore," Marko told Osterreich newspaper, "but I’m very confident about Austin."

After Azerbaijan, Marko was quoted by Bild newspaper as admitting that the constructors’ championship, which McLaren now leads, is "gone" for Red Bull in 2024.

"I wouldn’t say gone," Marko said in Singapore, "but it will be very difficult against McLaren. They have two strong drivers and a car that works on every track.

"But I am relieved about Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’. The last few races have been about damage limitation, but we don’t have to panic - although some would like it if we did."

Former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos agrees that Verstappen doesn’t need to worry about not securing his fourth consecutive world championship this year.

"Max won his championship in those first nine races," he told Ziggo Sport, adding that McLaren should probably drop its new policy of favouring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri.

"I certainly hope they won’t talk about team orders anymore this season," said Doornbos. "They have Oscar Piastri, a clear future world champion, in the car, who delivered a flawless weekend at Baku.

"I haven’t seen anyone else do that this season, except Max Verstappen."