Marko eyes Monza upset — if McLaren don’t find another gear
Helmut Marko didn’t quite promise a Red Bull revival at Monza. But he came close.
After a Friday that left Max Verstappen hovering around the sharp end — fourth in FP1, sixth in FP2 — Red Bull’s motorsport advisor said the Italian Grand Prix win is on the table, with one big caveat.
“We hope to fight with some others, I would say, for the win,” Marko told reporters after FP2, before softening it with a familiar smirk. “If McLaren doesn’t show up with something extra tomorrow.”
That’s where the paddock consensus sits this season: if anyone’s dictating pace, it’s McLaren. Ferrari, on home soil, will always look dangerous — especially on a Friday — but the papaya cars have owned enough Saturdays in 2025 to make everyone else nervous about what’s in the back pocket.
Red Bull, though, looked more stitched together than they did here 12 months ago. Marko pointed to hard lessons from 2024, a cluster of small updates, and a reset in how the RB is being trimmed for low drag. “We have a different philosophy now,” he said. “All those things are a little bit minor, but the package together makes a difference.”
It showed in the long runs. Verstappen’s pace on heavier fuel looked tidy and, crucially, repeatable. The soft-tyre phase still needs work — “we only need more traction on the soft tyre,” Marko admitted — but he reckons that can be fixed “without changing the wing position,” which suggests Red Bull are comfortable with their straight-line trade-offs for qualifying.
The timing sheets backed the impression without screaming it. Verstappen shadowed the lead group early, then drifted to sixth as the track rubbered in and others lit up the softs. Yuki Tsunoda, who spent FP1 buried in the midfield, popped up to ninth in FP2 with a cleaner lap. In between Verstappen and the top were the usual Monza suspects: McLaren, Ferrari, and a lively Williams. Marko’s not losing sleep over the latter. “Williams [are] not so consistent,” he shrugged. Ferrari? “We are in Monza, so Ferrari on Friday is always very good.”
Strip the Friday fireworks away and the story is simple enough. Red Bull have a car that’s quicker here than it was last year, Verstappen’s long-run pace looks serviceable, and the team believe they can keep trimming without sacrificing tyre life. The difference between a podium and a prayer will, as so often at Monza, come down to the tow game and who nails the out-lap dance in Q3. If McLaren produce another qualifying hammer blow, Sunday becomes an exercise in containment. If they don’t, Marko smells a chance.
There’s a touch of the old Red Bull confidence in his tone, even if the balance of power isn’t what it was in the Verstappen steamroller years. The upgrades are small; the intent isn’t. And while Monza can be brutally binary — fast in a straight line or forget it — Red Bull’s read on that soft-tyre traction issue hints at a car that’s operating closer to its window than it has in recent weeks.
It’s also a circuit that can turn on half a tenth. A slingshot in the right place. A tow at the right time. A slipstream lost because your rival lifted for traffic and you didn’t. McLaren have been the best at building banker laps without fuss; Ferrari tend to erupt on Friday and then go hunting ghosts on Saturday; Red Bull, at their imperious best, used to make all of that academic. They’re not quite there. But they’re not out of it either.
So here’s the deal as Marko sees it: keep the car trimmed, find a lick more bite on the softs, trust the long-run rhythm, and hope McLaren don’t find “something extra” overnight. If that happens, Verstappen has a live shot at breaking up the papaya party. If not, it’s Monza: you hang on, see what the tow gives you, and live with the scarlet noise.
Qualifying will tell us which version of 2025 we’re getting. The one where McLaren slam the door, or the one where Red Bull wedge a foot in just as it’s closing. Either way, expect Marko to have a line ready. He usually does.
