Marko acknowledges painful reality for Verstappen after dreadful race for Red Bull

“We were set up for a dry race,” said the 82-year-old Austrian. Still, he admits that even under those conditions, the RB21 fell short: “Even at the end, when it finally dried up, McLaren was just too fast.”

According to Marko, Red Bull’s setup was a gamble that ultimately didn’t pay off: “That pole position was a combination of Verstappen and a risky setup,” he explains. “But as you saw, it went wrong during the race. That setup was anything but ideal.”

The top Red Bull advisor takes some responsibility but also emphasizes that McLaren is simply the stronger team right now. “You just have to acknowledge that McLaren is superior. This season, it’s very, very difficult to even get close.”

In the championship, Red Bull is losing more and more ground to McLaren. After the Silverstone race, Verstappen is 69 points behind Oscar Piastri, with whom he was involved in a notable incident.

Piastri was heavily penalized for it, much to the Dutchman’s surprise. He referred to a similar incident involving George Russell in Canada.