Helmut Marko admits Red Bull facing ‘bit of a diva’ car similar to Mercedes’ 2017 issues
Helmut Marko didn't hesitate to berate Red Bull's disappointing chassis performance in the 2024 season and labeled the RB20 car a diva.
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Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (via IMAGO)
Red Bull’s 2024 car RB20 was believed to follow the dominant predecessor in terms of performance. However, the season was a rude awakening for the Milton Keynes-based team as they started facing a torrid time with the challenger. This led Red Bull’s senior advisor Helmut Marko to label the disappointing challenger a ‘diva car.’
Red Bull had previously denied labeling the car as a ‘diva’ despite the struggles. However, Helmut Marko backed down on these claims and put forth the ugly truth. He noted that the team took a ‘wrong turn’ and missed out on a major pace. The 81-year-old recalled that the RB20 could only amass a couple of one-two finishes despite the massive hopes from the people.
We realise we took a wrong turn somewhere. At the beginning of the year, we had three one-two finishes with a car that many thought was the next series winner.Helmut Marko told nl.motorsport.com
Following this, Marko joked about the entire situation. He recalled Toto Wolff‘s words and labeled the RB20 chassis as a ‘diva’ due to the issues. Additionally, Marko opened up regarding the complexity of tuning the chassis to keep it in the perfect spot in the ground-effect era.
Then we discovered that the car was a bit of a diva, if I use the words of Toto [Wolff]. Tuning the chassis has become very complex with these ground-effect cars.Helmut Marko added
Helmut Marko says there is ‘no point’ implementing upgrades with more downforce in the RB20
Red Bull have continued to implement multiple upgrades amidst the failure in performance to revive any pace left. However, the team failed to see improvements as they quickly lost ground to McLaren on the track. As a result, Helmut Marko claimed that there was no point in implementing upgrades with more downforce on the chassis.
There is therefore no point in including updates with more downforce until we have solved the problem with the car.Helmut Marko noted
The upcoming Azerbaijan GP would be extremely crucial for Red Bull as they are just eight points ahead of McLaren in the constructors’ championship. A failure to perform well in Baku would cause the team to lose the lead for the first time in the ground-effect era. Hence, the team must desperately work on their form and return to their winning ways.
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Aditya Pandya
(1440 Articles Published)