No one at Red Bull believes in a turnaround, What will Verstappen do?

It took a while before the key figures emerged from the garage on Friday afternoon. Pierre Waché, Red Bull's technical director, was the first to appear, and his expression was stormy. It wasn't until about ten minutes later that team principal Christian Horner and Helmut Marko left. The latter was particularly notable, as Marko is usually one of the first to return to the Red Bull Energy Station after a session. So, there were plenty of reasons for an extended discussion.

Undoubtedly, the top brass at Red Bull evaluated how the opening day of the European F1 season went. Plenty of words must have been said, perhaps 'disappointing' being the foremost. With a series of updates, including to the side pods, it was hoped that the gap to McLaren would be reduced.

That hope was in vain, as on the first day in Imola, the gap between Verstappen and the fastest McLaren of Oscar Piastri was 'simply' four-tenths of a second, as if nothing had changed at all. For Verstappen to finish ahead of the British team this weekend, it would need to be a miraculous weekend: after a Friday full of problems, then a night of hard work, to put the RB21 on pole on Saturday?

Hope is always there, but is it realistic? Those who listen closely in the Red Bull and Verstappen camp soon know that the answer to that last question is negative. Even Helmut Marko, the external advisor who often sees glimmers of hope, now admits it's going to be a hell of a job to catch up with McLaren, let alone overtake them.

In the Verstappen camp, GPblog then heard sentences that have been said so often this season. Even with the updates, the balance of the RB21 was completely off, and - for the umpteenth time - it was said that Red Bull simply has no idea what the solution is to all the problems.

Meanwhile, as summer approaches, the moment comes when Max Verstappen definitively must decide what he wants with his future: try another year with Red Bull or look next door, with Mercedes as the most logical destination.

Although Max Verstappen has repeatedly stated in the media that he's not thinking about leaving, GPblog has been hearing (off the record) for months that it was an option should the situation at Red Bull and the outlook not improve. Verstappen made this known for the first time in an interview on Saturday.

In short, just in a weekend when improvements through updates were expected, the pressure at Red Bull is even greater - if the Austrians want to keep Verstappen.