Red Bull crisis, Marko says fight with Horner has nothing to do with it: “But it didn’t help”

Red Bull defends top spot in F1 standings

Against all expectations after the McLaren one-two in qualifying, Red Bull managed to maintain the first place in the constructors’ standings at the end of the Italian GP in Monza. The advantage in both classifications is decreasing race after race but the problems of the rivals, who have not yet made a decision in terms of team orders to favor Lando Norris, have so far allowed the Milton Keynes team to remain in the lead. It is no coincidence that the Red Bull consultant, Helmut Markoafter the checkered flag he thanked McLaren with a hint of irony for the “Papaya rules”, that is, the rules of engagement between Norris and Piastri that are indirectly helping Max Verstappen’s pursuit of his fourth title.

Helmut Marko’s Priority

Interviewed by the Austrian site oe24the 81-year-old former driver explained the reasons why he complimented McLaren for their sportsmanship: “I did it because the results were not negative for us. Despite our non-performance, Max still has a 62 point lead in the drivers’ standings. It is clear, however, that this advantage could quickly diminish if we continue like this. If we do not give Verstappen a more driveable car and we are unable to improve performance, then anything is possible. Perez? Not bad, but slower. The priority is to allow Max to win the world championship”.

Red Bull pit fights

Marko then added that, in his opinion, it is not the internal disputes in the garage following the investigation into the case of alleged harassment by team principal Christian Horner that have generated the current situation of technical difficulty: “It is clear that this situation does not help, but in the end it is not directly linked to our technical problems, but to the departure of important people.. If some employees want to change and they get a good offer or see a new opportunity, then they will take it. Regarding the problems, we have already found some, but now we need to develop the appropriate changes quickly, so that the car finds the right balance. The next two races, on street circuits in Baku and Singapore, will not be very significant, while In Austin it will be clear whether we have managed to reverse the trend”.