Helmut Marko reveals when Red Bull will “have the speed” to beat McLaren
“We are moving forward and getting a car which is more predictable and is also working in a wider range.“
Helmut Marko expects Red Bull will “have the speed” to beat McLaren when F1 arrives in Europe for the first time next month.
Red Bull have trailed McLaren in pure performance terms since the start of the 2025 F1 season.
The Woking-based outfit have won four of the opening five races, making it their best start to an F1 season since 1998.
Red Bull are the only other team to win a race, as Max Verstappen came out on top at Suzuka.
Verstappen also clinched pole in Jeddah but didn’t convert it into a victory after he was penalised on the opening lap for illegally defending his position from Oscar Piastri down into Turn 1.
Red Bull are pinning their hopes on the flexi-wing clampdown that will be in place for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Stricter measures are set to be in place, with Red Bull confident that they will impact McLaren.
Marko has targeted Imola as the weekend where Red Bull will be able to beat McLaren on merit.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Marko said: “We will have small steps, and I think by Imola we should be in a position that we also have the speed to beat the McLarens.”
Red Bull’s success in 2025 has come at tracks with predominantly high-speed corners.
Their worst weekend was in Bahrain, with Verstappen finishing a lowly sixth.
Verstappen had to wait until the final lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix to overtake Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Marko believes that Red Bull are still making progress despite their inconsistencies.
“Compared to Bahrain, we made a big progress, but also this circuit suits us better – faster corners and so on,” Marko added.
“We are moving forward and getting a car which is more predictable and is also working in a wider range.”
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