JUNE 14, 2025

Verstappen 'back in the game' in Canada - Marko

Red Bull is back "in the game" in Canada, optimistic team advisor Dr Helmut Marko has declared.

The 82-year-old actually said mere days ago that Max Verstappen had essentially no chance of beating the McLarens this weekend in Montreal.

But although Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris' cars feature several updates, they struggled to make an impression in Friday practice - as Mercedes looks set to have a strong weekend.

Some think McLaren's issue in Canada is the high-drag characteristics of the otherwise dominant 2025 car, perhaps due to its highly efficient cooling layout.

As for Verstappen, he was actually quickest overall in FP1, before falling back in the later Friday session. If the car is as good as it was at the beginning, we'll be in the game, Marko declared.

Strangely, the changes we made didn't have as much of an impact in the long run as they did on one lap. In that respect, we're on a par with Piastri, he added.

In a separate interview, Marko continued: "We were about as fast as Piastri, and the tyre wear was also limited. So we are looking forward to the rest of the weekend with optimism.

I think we really are among the fastest.