Helmut Marko Warns Red Bull - RB20 Is A 'B**ch That Only Max Verstappen Can Tame'

Saajan Jogia | Aug 20, 2024

Oct 23, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Helmut Marko of Red Bull Racing Team holds up the World Constructors' Champions trophy after the running of the U.S. Grand Prix F1 race at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Red Bull's senior advisor, Helmut Marko has warned the team about the unpredictable nature of the RB20 F1 car, describing it as a "b**ch" that only Max Verstappen has been able to handle during race weekends.

The comments from the 81-year-old advisor come in the wake of the challenges Red Bull has had to endure during race weekends as a result of the resurgence in performance of rival teams such as Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari.

Red Bull continued a dominant streak from 2023 by delivering three 1-2 finishes in the first five races of the current season. However, something occurred mid-season that caused Sergio Perez to drop pace significantly.

The situation worsened to the extent that Verstappen finished within points and helped the team with its point collection. While it was announced that Perez would be given another chance to prove himself after a meeting during the summer break amid reports of his Red Bull departure, it can't be ignored that the team has won 7 out of the 14 Grands Prix thus far, against 21 wins out of the 22 races last season.

Marko believes that the RB20 F1 car had a perfect setup early in the season, but a mid-season upgrade disrupted its balance, leaving only Verstappen capable of taming it. Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, as reported by RacingNews365.com, he said:

"At the start of the season, we had a car that was as balanced as the McLaren is now.

"It could handle all tracks and all conditions. Then we took a wrong turn somewhere. The car has become a b**ch that only Max can tame.

"They made the car more and more unpredictable. It became more and more difficult to set it up and balance it."

The converging grid has led Verstappen to not secure even a single victory in the last four races, while Marko blamed other factors that held him back from securing victories. He added:

"We are better than our last results.

"Without the bad pit stop in Spielberg, the collision with Hamilton in Hungary and the grid penalty in Spa, Max would be in a better position."

Despite the supposed challenges with the car, Verstappen set the fastest time in Austria and Belgium during qualifying, but Marko highlights that the car's pace was absent during the race. He added:

"Those were special qualifying laps from Max.

"In the race, the superiority was gone. 

"Like Mercedes at the beginning of the year, we are sometimes fast and sometimes slow depending on the conditions. Sometimes even in the same race as in Silverstone, where it rained in between."