Helmut Marko: The individual title is more important for us

      Helmut Marko, Red Bull's motorsport consultant, said that Max Verstappen's fifth individual title will be a priority for Red Bull Racing in the upcoming season. At the same time, the team is not ready to give up the fight for the Constructors' Cup.

      Helmut Marko: "The individual title is a priority. Red Bull does not produce cars, so all our attention is focused on the racer.

      However, the team's employees receive bonuses depending on their place in the Constructors' Cup. The numbers are different, but we are talking about significant amounts. There was disappointment at the base when we finished third last year, behind McLaren and Ferrari."

      Speaking about the team's prospects in 2025, Marko expressed cautious optimism: "As we know, last season was not the best for us technically. But thanks to his exceptional abilities, Max was able to compensate for the shortcomings of the car. The team worked intensively on refining the car up to the stage in Monza, which partially bore fruit.

      The main problem was the narrow operating range of the RB20. Falling out of it led to the loss of a second on the lap. Therefore, the goal for 2025 was to create a car with a wider operating range so that riders would feel more confident behind the wheel. In principle, we have achieved this, but not yet perfectly.

      The winter test results cannot be considered a reliable benchmark, as conditions in Bahrain were atypical. McLaren turned out to be very fast, but I don't think this picture reflects the balance of power in the season.

      We analyzed everything after the tests, and Max spent a lot of time working on the simulator. He was very happy that we seemed to have found the right direction. It's going to be warm in Melbourne, and conditions are very different from those in Bahrain, and we have the Max factor."