Marko Warns Red Bull in 'Uncomfortable Situation' Ahead of Abu Dhabi Title Decider

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko expressed concerns about the team's car performance ahead of the title-deciding race in Abu Dhabi. Despite Max Verstappen securing second place in both FP1 and FP2, he reported dissatisfaction with the car, highlighting understeer and bouncing issues.

Why it matters:

Red Bull's current struggles with car balance and tire degradation, particularly in Sector 3, could jeopardize Max Verstappen's championship bid. With Lando Norris showing strong pace and a podium finish from him potentially eliminating Verstappen's title chances, optimizing the car's setup is critical. This situation puts immense pressure on Red Bull to make significant improvements before qualifying and the race, especially as they seek to fend off McLaren's challenge and secure the championship.

The details:

• Verstappen's Feedback: Max Verstappen reported the car was experiencing understeer and "a little bit bouncing" during both Free Practice sessions on Friday.
• Marko's Assessment: Helmut Marko stated, "I wouldn't say it's alarming, but it's not a very comfortable situation." He noted similar issues in long runs, with significant time loss in Sector 3 and higher tire degradation compared to Lando Norris's McLaren.
• McLaren's Pace: Marko highlighted Norris as being particularly quick, which poses a direct threat to Verstappen's championship hopes, as a Norris podium would mathematically end Verstappen's title bid.
• Team-mate Support: Red Bull is looking to Yuki Tsunoda for support, but Marko emphasized that Tsunoda "has to be more close" to Verstappen's pace, despite not running on the exact same setup. Tsunoda's best qualifying position this year has been sixth.

The big picture:

Friday practice sessions are crucial for gathering data and making necessary adjustments to the car, and Red Bull, typically strong in maximizing Friday running, faces an uphill battle this weekend. The team's inability to find a comfortable balance puts them under pressure to find solutions quickly. With the championship on the line, every tenth of a second and every strategic decision will count. The performance of other teams, particularly Ferrari and Mercedes, could also indirectly impact the title fight if they can challenge Norris.

What's next:

Red Bull's engineers will be working tirelessly overnight and into Saturday to address the understeer, bouncing, and tire degradation issues reported by Verstappen. The team will need to make significant setup changes to improve the RB21's performance, especially in Sector 3, to give Verstappen the best chance to secure the championship. All eyes will be on qualifying to see if Red Bull can find the pace needed to challenge McLaren and potentially other front-runners.