Helmut Marko believes Red Bull has twice taken the wrong direction with development of the RB22, leaving the team facing not only a major performance deficit but also a difficult financial situation under Formula 1’s budget cap. The former Red Bull adviser has delivered a critical assessment of his old team as Max Verstappen approaches the Italian Grand Prix still searching for his first victory of the 2026 season.
Despite occasional flashes of promise, including the four podium finishes achieved by Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s 2026 campaign has so far been a major disappointment. The Milton Keynes squad has been unable to move beyond its position as the fourth-fastest of Formula 1’s leading teams, while the Zandvoort weekend provided further evidence that recent Ferrari and McLaren upgrades are pushing Laurent Mekies’ team increasingly further away from the battle for podium finishes.
There is now a genuine possibility that Red Bull could complete a Formula 1 season without a single victory for the first time since 2015. Max Verstappen’s current winless run reflects just how dramatically the competitive picture has changed for a team that dominated Formula 1 only a few seasons ago.
Helmut Marko criticises Red Bull RB22 development
Few people understand the internal dynamics of Red Bull better than Helmut Marko. The long-time adviser and talent scout, who maintained a particularly close relationship with Max Verstappen, left the team at the end of the 2025 season. His departure added another major name to the list of influential figures who have either chosen or been forced to leave the organisation over the past two years.
Ahead of the Monza weekend, Helmut Marko spoke to Austrian outlet Oe24 and offered a blunt assessment of his former team. In particular, he pointed towards mistakes in the development direction of the RB22 as a major reason behind Red Bull’s current difficulties.
“Red Bull didn’t start the season that badly,” Helmut Marko observed. “But then things went in the wrong direction. If you go in the wrong direction twice with development, things become difficult financially because of the cost-cap regulations.”
Those comments underline how difficult it could now be for Red Bull to reverse the trajectory of its season. Under the budget cap, pursuing unsuccessful development paths does not simply cost time: it also consumes financial resources that cannot easily be recovered and redirected towards alternative solutions.
The difficulties have already been visible on track, with the RB22 exposing weaknesses that have made it harder for Max Verstappen to extract his usual performance. Rival upgrades have only increased the pressure on Red Bull as the season has progressed.
Marko sees three better victory chances for Max Verstappen
Helmut Marko nevertheless identified three circuits where, with some luck, Max Verstappen and Red Bull could at least have an opportunity to fight for victory. Actually converting one of those chances into a win, however, is another matter entirely.
Despite Monza’s high-speed characteristics, Marko does not believe the Italian Grand Prix arrives at the right moment for Red Bull.
“Monza comes too early. On a short circuit like Zandvoort, the gap was four or five tenths. That’s an eternity. It will be difficult to win. Perhaps the best chances could be in Texas, Las Vegas or Mexico,” Helmut Marko concluded.
His assessment paints a difficult picture for Red Bull heading into the final phase of the championship. Max Verstappen currently sits behind the main title contenders in the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, while the team’s inability to keep pace with development from Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren has made even individual race victories increasingly difficult to achieve.
For Red Bull, the challenge is no longer simply finding more performance from the RB22. According to Helmut Marko, the consequences of two unsuccessful development directions mean the team must now attempt to recover while operating within the same financial restrictions that helped make those mistakes so costly in the first place.
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