Marko believes Red Bull can overtake McLaren in five races.

      "It's all about maximizing during this time."

      By GMM

      17 March 2025 - 11:39

      McLaren's clear early strength in 2025 might still be surpassed - in just five races. This statement comes from the self-proclaimed "optimist" Dr. Helmut Marko, a key advisor at Red Bull. He made these remarks after the race in Melbourne, where Lando Norris claimed the title of the first non-Max Verstappen world championship leader in years, despite a tight finish under challenging conditions.

      George Russell from Mercedes, who also finished on the podium, expressed skepticism about McLaren being overtaken. "If you have a six-tenths lead at the start of the year, no one makes up that gap over the season," he stated.

      There is confusion at Red Bull and elsewhere regarding how McLaren has managed to create a car that excels not only at heating up the tires but also in minimizing degradation. "This is the greatest advantage I’ve ever witnessed in a racing car in this particular aspect," remarked Christian Horner, the team principal at Red Bull. "Typically, if you heat the tires quickly, you pay for it in wear. But this McLaren doesn’t behave that way."

      Red Bull is doubtful about McLaren's wing flexibility; however, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff insists, "It certainly isn’t linked to that. It’s not just about performance,” he continued. “They are able to really push the tire, yet when we try that, we end up overheating them."

      Marko believes Red Bull can still contend for the 2025 championship. "It’s all about maximizing during this phase," he mentioned. "After 8 to 10 laps, we see our tire degradation begin to affect performance, and then McLaren pulls ahead by a second. But we hope to close that gap over a maximum of five races. There are other issues we’re facing, but tire wear is our biggest challenge. We know what we need to focus on and are putting in a lot of effort," Marko added. "In three to five races, we hope to rectify it. As I said, our tires need to heat up faster and last longer. We have upgrades planned, but they will take some time."

      In the meantime, Marko stated that Red Bull and Max Verstappen will aim to maintain the pressure. "Anything is possible when you keep the pressure on," he remarked. "Because it wasn’t only (Oscar) Piastri who made mistakes - Norris nearly spun as well. They are both very strong drivers, and the car is nearly perfect, but this is only the first race of 24, and we haven’t given up yet."