Helmut Marko admits Red Bull made a ‘crucial’ realisation in Brazil that Ferrari couldn’t understand

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Max Verstappen turned his Brazilian Grand Prix weekend around against the odds, despite a pit-lane start in Sao Paulo.

The man competing for a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship didn’t let a shock Q1 elimination on Saturday ruin his weekend, as Red Bull opted to change his set-up and power unit overnight. It was a transformational move that put him back in the hunt for a podium.

If Verstappen had been somewhere closer to the front of the grid at the start, then there was a real chance that he might have been able to win the race. For large portions of it, he showed more pace than McLaren’s Lando Norris, who ran in clean air.

Red Bull made a small ‘tweak’ to Verstappen’s car in Sao Paulo that helped him to third place, just shy of Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes in second. Verstappen seemed lost at the Brazilian Grand Prix, knowing that his title hopes were fading quickly after a bad qualifying.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen contract clause could seal 2027 Red Bull exit with two teams now on his radar

Helmut Marko admits Red Bull fixed ‘crucial’ problem on Max Verstappen’s car that Ferrari couldn’t

McLaren are suspicious of a Red Bull change in power units after qualifying, which would have given them a boost in Sao Paulo. Team boss Andrea Stella wants to know if it will end up counting against their 2025 cost cap.

Verstappen thinks cooler conditions ‘helped’ Red Bull, which is a promising sign for the upcoming race in Las Vegas, too. Historically, that race is always quite chilly, and it has been known to give the McLaren cars problems.

Back to their own issues, and team advisor Helmut Marko believes that they were able to overcome a ‘crucial’ set-up problem in time for Sunday’s race. It was something that it didn’t look like Ferrari could master, either.

“Generally speaking, this is the biggest drawback of the RB21 race car: the car has such a narrow operating window that even the smallest changes have a major impact,” he told SPEEDWEEK.

“We are talking about variations in ground clearance in the range of half a millimetre or a change in track temperature of a few degrees. We’re not alone with this problem: Mercedes struggled with it extensively this year, as did Ferrari.

“Thankfully, we managed to fix it for the race, and that’s the crucial point for me, along with the team’s resurrection after a truly difficult period in the summer.”

READ MORE: Lando Norris makes ‘pretty disappointing’ claim after Max Verstappen’s incredible Brazilian GP display

Why Red Bull must produce a perfect performance at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Verstappen and Marko agree about their 2025 title bid, and sense that the opportunity to make history may be gone.

From 49 points behind, something miraculous needs to happen in the final three races for the Dutchman to stand a chance of beating either McLaren driver.

In fact, if he has a bad race next time in Las Vegas, then he could be out of the equation altogether. It would require Norris to outscore him by just nine points.

So, the pressure is on, knowing that McLaren will be vulnerable at one of their weaker tracks with a title on the line. Now is the time for Verstappen to step up more than ever.