The problems that Max Verstappen and Red Bull experienced in the Mexican GP carried over into Brazil. Despite a strong season, Verstappen is struggling to maintain his usual dominance in qualifyings. The team has been facing unexpected challenges, particularly in qualifying and particularly its slow pace compared to title rivals.

Advisor Helmut Marko expressed his opinion on Verstappen’s poor qualifying. Max Verstappen could only secure the fourth spot on the grid, a significant drop from his usual pole position dominance. This disappointing performance raised questions about Red Bull’s competitiveness, especially considering McLaren’s strong performance.

While they faced overall difficulties in Brazil, specific struggles with Turns 4 and 9 at Interlagos were highlighted by Helmut Marko. The 81-year-old admitted they were pretty slow in that particular turns that hindered Verstappen’s performance. Apart from that the track in Sao Paulo is also causing difficulties and bumps to the RB20 making it undriveable.

We are too slow. In turns four and nine we lose far too much to McLaren. There are several problems.

The uneven track doesn’t help either when the car goes over the kerbs too much. Helmut Marko told Sky GermanyAcknowledging their struggles, Helmut Marko emphasized that it will be tough for the Milton Keynes team to keep up with the McLaren drivers. However, he noted that Ferrari might be within reach since they have lost some pace compared to McLaren in sprint qualifying.

Recently, Ferrari even overtook Red Bull for second place in the Constructors so Milton Keynes is focused on closing that gap. They’re 25 points behind Ferrari and aims to score more points in sprints to reclaim second place in the standings. I think with McLaren it will be very difficult, or de facto impossible to keep up.

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari seem within reach, at least in the sprint race. But the gap is very big considering the short lap. Helmut Marko stated RELATEDCharles Leclerc to do ‘everything’ to make life difficult for rivals in Brazilian GP SprintHelmut Marko reflects on Sergio Perez’s performance in sprint qualifyingRed Bull had a disappointing performance in sprint qualifying, with Sergio Perez finishing 13th.

His struggles stemmed from team miscommunication and car balance issues. Sergio Perez and Helmut Marko (via Planetf1)Despite a solid start in SQ1 his single-lap attempt in SQ2 didn’t secure a spot in the final round, putting him at a disadvantage for both the Sprint race and the main Grand Prix. Helmut Marko noted that their strategy was to complete only one lap in SQ2.

However, they realized too late that this approach wasn’t sufficient, resulting in Perez’s early exit. The original plan was to do just one lap. Unfortunately, it turned out too late that this lap was not enough.

Helmut Marko saidThe sprint race will see Max Verstappen start from the fourth position. However, there is a serious competition ahead with McLaren duo on front row and Charles Leclerc in third. RELATEDOscar Piastri reveals McLaren’ ‘main objective’ after qualifying ahead of Lando Norris for Interlagos SprintThe team plans to introduce a new engine for Max Verstappen’s car, which could give him an advantage in pace.

However, this upgrade comes with a five-place grid penalty for the main race, meaning he will start further back on the grid.