Red Bull Disappointment
Despite some momentary flashes of happiness, achieved thanks to the four podiums secured by Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s 2026 has been disappointing so far. The Milton Keynes team has not managed to move from the role of the fourth force on the grid, the last among the top teams, and the Zandvoort weekend demonstrated even more how the latest updates brought by Ferrari and McLaren are making the team led by Laurent Mekies fall further and further away from the battle for the podium. There are concrete possibilities that this season will be the first for Red Bull since 2015 to end without even a single victory.
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Perhaps no one knows better than anyone else the dynamics governing the Anglo-Austrian team than Helmut Marko, the historic former team consultant – and very close to Max Verstappen – who left the team at the end of the 2025 season, joining the list of illustrious names who have made the history of this team and who in the last two years have had to or wanted to pack their bags. On the eve of the Monza weekend, Marko gave an interview to the Austrian site Oe24 and was not particularly kind to his former team. In particular, the former Red Bull talent scout pointed the finger at the mistakes that emerged in the development of the RB22.
Ineffective Developments
“Red Bull did not start the season that badly – Marko observed – but then things took a negative turn. If you follow the wrong direction twice in development, the situation becomes difficult financially, given the spending cap rules“. Words that weigh heavily and suggest that it will be very difficult for Red Bull to straighten out the course of this championship and even get some partial satisfaction.
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However, Marko indicated three tracks where, with a bit of luck, Verstappen and Red Bull could at least think about competing for the win, even though actually winning is a very different matter: “Monza comes too early. On a short circuit like Zandvoort, the gap was four or five tenths: it’s an eternity. It will be difficult to win. Perhaps the best chances are in Texas, Las Vegas, or Mexico“, he concluded.
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