Marko admits Red Bull ‘too slow’ after Miami defeat

Red Bull faces a serious performance crisis. After Max Verstappen's pole position turned into a distant fourth-place finish at the Miami Grand Prix, team advisor Helmut Marko delivered a stark assessment of their situation.

The reigning world champion struggled with grip issues throughout the race, losing approximately seven-tenths per lap to the McLaren duo.

Oscar Piastri secured his third consecutive victory, leading teammate Lando Norris in a commanding 1-2 finish for the papaya squad.

"The main conclusion is we are too slow,"

Marko told Motorsport.com immediately after the race.

"We saw when they were driving flat out, we are seven-tenths of a second behind. We saw the real speed for the first time."

Early promise fades quickly

Verstappen's weekend began with promise after securing pole position ahead of Norris on Saturday.

However, a contentious start saw him make contact with the British driver, dropping Norris to sixth position.

Despite this early advantage, Verstappen couldn't maintain his lead. Both McLaren drivers demonstrated superior pace, with first Piastri and then Norris easily overtaking the Dutch champion.

Marko described the performance gap as "depressing," highlighting the team's unexpected struggle with race pace that left them unable to compete with McLaren's dominance.

VSC timing compounds problems

Verstappen's race deteriorated further when George Russell gained position during a virtual safety car period. The Mercedes driver's pitstop proved less costly time-wise during the caution.

On harder compound tires, Verstappen then failed to reclaim third position from Russell throughout the second stint.

By the checkered flag, he crossed the line a staggering 40 seconds behind race winner Piastri.

Urgent performance search

Red Bull plans to introduce further upgrades at the upcoming Imola Grand Prix, following a new floor design already implemented for Verstappen in Miami.

However, Marko expressed doubt about their ability to close such a significant gap quickly.

"We have to find some performance straight away,"

the Austrian stated. When asked if the next upgrade package would be sufficient to catch McLaren, he replied:

"It has to, but such a big step is difficult to catch up."

The team's struggles appear particularly pronounced on circuits where tire overheating becomes a factor, suggesting a fundamental issue with their 2025 car concept that may require more than incremental improvements.