Red Bull Struggles in Bahrain: Marko Vows to Overturn Slow Performance
The Red Bull team faced a lackluster Friday in Bahrain due to tire overheating, with Max Verstappen failing to shine in the free practice sessions. In a disappointing performance, Verstappen finished seventh and Yuki Tsunoda eighteenth. The gap from the leading McLaren was significant, with the Dutch champion trailing by eight tenths. The team aims to turn around their performance as they did the previous week in Suzuka, although Helmut Marko, Red Bull consultant, acknowledges the challenge ahead.
Marko pointed out the team’s issues, stating, “We are too slow, and the tires overheat too much. The main problem is that we can’t control the tire temperatures. When the temperature rises, we start to slide and continue to do so. It’s quite strange; at some point, the tires recover, and we can match Lando Norris’s lap times. Unfortunately, it only lasts for three laps out of fifteen.”
In an attempt to motivate the team, Marko added, “We don’t know the cause, or else we would have solved it. We will overturn the situation as we did in Japan and hope to make the right setup changes to be competitive again.” Addressing the gap to McLaren, Marko expressed, “Unfortunately, it’s more than three tenths. It’s the same even on long runs.”
The Red Bull team faces a challenging weekend in Bahrain, with Marko’s determination to address the performance issues and make the necessary adjustments for a competitive showing in the upcoming sessions.
