Marko shares new update about Verstappen's future at Red Bull Racing

“It would be nice if the first assumption is correct. The second one is not,” is Marko's succinct response in the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

Marko has long given up on the constructors' championship title. The Red Bull chief advisor also admits that it will be a tremendous task to make Verstappen champion this season - thus making the first part of Nicholas' statement come true.

“If we don't quickly catch up, the driver's championship is over. We need to be able to win on our own merit, as we did in Suzuka,” explains Marko.

A victory in Canada would be more than timely for Red Bull. But Marko is a realist: without issues for the McLarens, Verstappen will not cross the finish line first in Montreal.

“Purely in terms of speed: no,” says Marko. “There is not much to begin with here: there are no fast corners, there are high curbs – everything our car did not like before.”