Max Verstappen wins again – and Red Bull has new hope: After Baku, Helmut Marko sees new opportunities in the 2025 World Championship battle
After Max Verstappen’s second consecutive Red Bull victory, team advisor Helmut Marko has new hope in the 2025 Formula 1 title race: Verstappen has made up 25 points in the drivers’ standings.
Marko said after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku: “It’s still 69 points [behind], but let’s see.”
Just a few weeks ago, very few observers would have thought that Red Bull would be back in contention in the 2025 season. However, Verstappen’s victories in Monza and Baku could turn the tide once again.
“It doesn’t happen very often that [a] McLaren doesn’t finish,” says Marko. “But we always say: we have to be as close as possible to make them nervous.”
And McLaren was nervous in Baku: both drivers made mistakes over the weekend in Azerbaijan. Championship leader Oscar Piastri even made two costly mistakes in qualifying and in the race. That could bring Red Bull driver Verstappen back into the game.
Singapore as a yardstick for Red Bull’s championship chances
Because that’s what the victory in Baku showed: “That Monza was not a one-off result,” said Marko. “We’re all looking forward to Singapore now, and if we’re competitive there—okay, then maybe we can start dreaming.”
The floodlit Grand Prix on the street circuit in the Asian metropolis places completely different demands on the equipment than the high-speed track in Monza or the street circuit in Baku.
“Not only is high downforce [required], it’s also always damn hot there, which doesn’t seem to suit our car very well either. That’s why Singapore will be the real benchmark for where we stand,“ says Marko. However, there is already a lot of euphoria at Red Bull: the recent victory would provide ”additional motivation,“ says Marko. ”When you see how enthusiastic and passionate the entire mechanics crew is – everyone is on board. And then, of course, results like this make it even easier.”
Why Red Bull is so strong right now and Tsunoda is scoring points
However, the main reason for Red Bull’s recent improvement in form is technical in nature. For Marko, the latest underbody update on the RB21 is “an important step, but not the only reason.” Rather, Red Bull has managed to broaden the car’s “working window.” “But the way you set up the car and how you approach the weekend” is also helpful. “We have a different approach, and it works,” explains Marko, explicitly including Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda: “If you talk to Yuki more, give him more information, coach him more, then that brings results.”
As in Baku: Red Bull received 33 World Championship points for Verstappen’s first place and Tsunoda’s sixth place – more than ever before in a single weekend this season.
