HELMUT MARKO DAMNS SERGIO PEREZ WITH FAINT PRAISE IN ‘WIN THE DRIVERS’ ORDER

Helmut Marko stopped short of saying the F1 2024 Constructors’ title is over for Red Bull with Sergio Perez’s “slower” driving, but he has made it clear winning the Drivers’ is the “priority.”

After two years of dominating the sport and winning a record-breaking 21 of 22 grands prix last year, Red Bull are staring down defeat in both championship races.

Helmut Marko: Sergio Perez isn’t bad, he’s just slower

Their troubles have been three-fold with the RB20 no longer the car to beat with its ongoing balance issues, Perez struggling to even get close to Max Verstappen on the track, and McLaren’s gains.

Perez’s performances, or lack thereof, dominated headlines earlier this year as the Mexican driver fell out of podium contention and even struggled to score points.

Off the podium in the last 11 races, his failure to match Verstappen, or even sit on his rear wing, cost the team dearly in the Constructors’ Championship.

It meant that when Red Bull made a misstep and unbalanced the RB20, an unexpected run of six races off of the podium for Verstappen opened the door for McLaren to pounce with their deficit down to eight points.

The F1 2024 Red Bull drivers head-to-head stats

👉F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

👉F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Verstappen is, however, 62 points clear of Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Championship and that’s the one Red Bull want according to Marko.

Asked if Red Bull can salvage the Constructors’ Championship with Perez, he told OE24: “Checo is not bad, he is just slower. But the priority is of course that Max wins the Drivers’ Championship.”

But issuing a stark warning to Red Bull, Marko said: “This lead can shrink quickly if we carry on like this.”

Red Bull recorded their worst two-car showing of the season at the Italian Grand Prix, Verstappen in sixth place – crossing the line 38 seconds down on race winner Charles Leclerc – while Perez was P8.

“If we don’t give him [Verstappen] a driveable car and deliver a performance like that a few more times, then anything is possible,” Marko continued.

Red Bull to use Liam Lawson tyre test to work on RB20 issues

Having revealed after the Monza race that a moment on Saturday with Verstappen gave Red Bull a firm idea as to what the issue was with the RB20 and the way forward, Marko said they’ll use Liam Lawson’s Pirelli tyre test to work on it.

“We are having a tyre test with Liam Lawson in Monza and at the same time our people will be analysing where we should make adjustments,” he said. “We have to find the point where we went wrong in development.

“We already have a few conclusive findings, now we have to implement the corresponding technical changes quickly so that the car has the right balance again.

“The next two races on the street circuits in Baku and Singapore are not very informative in this regard. Austin will show whether we can achieve the turnaround.”

2024-09-04T12:12:10Z dg43tfdfdgfd