Marko is hopeful that Norris will regain his peak performance in Monaco.
"The more points they share, the more advantageous it is for us."
Dr. Helmut Marko has expressed his support for McLaren's Lando Norris in hopes that he will regain his peak performance this weekend in Monaco. Norris was at the top of the championship standings early in 2025, but his less experienced teammate, Oscar Piastri, acknowledges that his consistency improvement in 2025 has significantly contributed to his current status as a title contender. Meanwhile, Imola marked a significant breakthrough for Red Bull, aided by a major car upgrade and possible regulatory changes that hindered McLaren, not to mention Verstappen's impressive overtaking move on Piastri at the start.
"That was definitely the overtake of the year, without a doubt,” said George Russell, who admits he isn’t particularly close with Verstappen, while in Monaco. At 82, Red Bull advisor Marko was initially skeptical about Verstappen's chances of winning the championship before Imola, but now he feels more optimistic. Nonetheless, he remains cautious regarding their odds in Monaco. "Max will require five or six wins to be in the title race," the Austrian stated to sport.de. "Achieving that will be quite challenging since McLaren has shown their car's effectiveness on all tracks, with any tyres and under any weather conditions. Everything must align for us to have a shot. However, I am hopeful that Norris starts winning again and takes points away from Piastri. We need to take advantage of that situation. They take turns being faster, which benefits us."
McLaren CEO Zak Brown admitted on Thursday that he would prefer Verstappen to win a fifth consecutive championship this year rather than impose strict team orders on either Piastri or Norris. Marko remarked, "For us, it’s quite straightforward. We have Max as our clear number one, with all focus on him, while McLaren has two drivers who are essentially equally matched. The more they switch places, the more points they distribute, the better it is for us."
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Marko is hopeful that Norris will regain his peak performance in Monaco.
Formula 1 | Dr. Helmut Marko has expressed his support for McLaren's Lando Norris as he hopes to see him regain his peak performance this weekend in Monaco. Norris was at the forefront of the championship (…)