Marko: Norris' Singapore dominance alien to Verstappen

The defending Formula 1 champion finished the race second behind Norris, albeit over 20s behind, a gap that could've been bigger had the latter not managed his pace towards the end, especially as McLaren asked him to bring the car home after a couple of heart-in-throat moments when he got too close to the wall.

However, the dominance Norris showed was reminiscent of that Verstappen enjoyed in the 2023 F1 season and in the first few races of 2024, which triggered the headline of our customary post-race Takeaways column from Singapore: Norris gives Verstappen a taste of his own medicine.

Apparently, Verstappen could not get his head around the speed Norris showed around the Marina Bay Circuit, as he could never match the Briton's lap times, despite his RB20's slightly improved form on that weekend.

Marko revealed that he and Verstappen discussed the Singapore race last Tuesday, where the Dutchman conveyed his feelings on how that race unraveled.

Speaking to Formel1.de, Marko claimed the Verstappen told him "that Lando's dominance is alien, especially on medium tyres – he took nine tenths to one second per lap from us" and went on: "Even if our car had been, let's say, optimized, he couldn't have driven those times on the medium. And we're all wondering how he did it.

"When Norris takes nine tenths to one second per lap from us, then it's a whole new world," Marko pointed out. "And don't forget, in the second stint, [Charles] Leclerc was just as fast as Lando or almost a bit faster. So for us, I would almost say that second place was like a victory."

Red Bull had a slightly revised floor for Singapore with a more elaborate upgrade planned for Austin in two weeks' time, and while the floor did deliver improvement, Marko insists Red Bull need more improvement, saying: "It [revised floor] is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough."

"They [Red Bull engineers] have worked very, very hard and have gained certain insights. It wasn't a completely new floor, but parts of it were new.

"But I think the deciding factor will be performance in Austin, and there are a lot of other things coming," the Austrian added.

Marko echoed Red Bull boss Christian Horner's sentiments that the Italian Grand Prix was a turning point in the team's efforts to recover from the slump they have suffered since Imola and claimed the race at Monza was "more than a wake-up call".

He said: "It [Monza] was the worst race since... I don't know, I can't remember when we got it so wrong in terms of strategy, pitstop, speed, everything.

"But we are now on the right track. The car needs to have a wider operating window – not one where relatively small changes, or temperature differences of six or seven degrees, can affect performance.

"And then more speed and also more bandwidth so that Max can attack. We know that he needs a car with front-end bite. Because just relying on coming in second is not good enough," Marko insisted, as Verstappen is gradually seeing his lead over Norris in the F1 drivers' championship reduced.

But while Verstappen can still clinch a fourth F1 crown in 2024, the same cannot be said about Red Bull, who have lost the lead in the constructors' standings to McLaren, with their chances to recover being slim, especially if the RB20 does not improve and Sergio Perez doesn't start contributing more points.

Marko admitted Red Bull's defense of their constructors' title is as good as over "with the performance we currently have" but then recanted: "I'm optimistic that if Max wins races again and Sergio can then achieve third or fourth place, then things will look different again.

"But the focus is primarily on the drivers' title for now. But if we achieve that – and I believe that's only possible if Max wins at least two more races – then it will also look a bit more promising in the constructors' championship," the Austrian concluded.