The former Red Bull driver advisor believes Max can fight at the front
Red Bull will arrive at its home Grand Prix in Austria with an important card to play in its efforts to convince Max Verstappen to remain with the Milton Keynes-based team. Retaining the Dutchman may be an even bigger priority than pure competitiveness in the 2026 Formula 1 season, although the two objectives are naturally closely connected.
The FIA recently classified Red Bull’s internal combustion engine as the strongest power unit on the grid, meaning the team was not granted the ADUO concession. However, one of the factors that has negatively affected the RB22’s performance so far this season has been its excess weight.
For that reason, there is considerable interest in seeing how much progress Red Bull can make at its home race. The Austrian outfit is set to introduce a significant package of upgrades, most notably the second phase of its weight-reduction programme following the first batch of changes that debuted in Miami.
Marko expects upgrades to have a major impact
According to Helmut Marko, the early stages of a new regulatory cycle are precisely the period when upgrades can have the greatest effect and potentially reshape the competitive order.
“Upgrades are certainly more effective at this stage of the regulations. You can gain as much as half a second,” Marko told the Austrian publication Kleine Zeitung.
“For the first time, Red Bull will be close to the minimum weight limit, so it could also be in contention for victory. I hope Verstappen can fight for the leading positions. Mercedes remains the favourite, but it has already suffered two technical retirements, which is rather unusual.”
The Austrian Grand Prix will therefore provide an important indication of whether Red Bull’s development path is delivering the expected results and whether Max Verstappen will finally have a car capable of consistently challenging at the front of the field.
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