Helmut Marko explains the mistake Red Bull made on Max Verstappen’s car during the Dutch Grand Prix

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Helmut Marko believes Red Bull made a mistake on Max Verstappen’s car setup which led to his problems during the Dutch Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen finished 22.8 seconds behind Lando Norris and was defeated for the first time at his home race in Zandvoort since it came back onto the calendar in 2021.

The Red Bull driver managed to take the lead from Norris off the start line following a poor getaway for the McLaren, but after 18 laps the Briton retook the lead and built up a sizable gap.

Verstappen briefly looked under threat from Oscar Piastri, but another bad start for him and getting caught up in traffic ultimately enabled the Dutchman to hang on to second place.

After suffering badly from tyre degradation throughout the race, Verstappen remarked to his engineer that his car was understeering and the tyres were out of grip just a handful of laps into his stints.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes the team made a mistake when setting up his RB20, which impacted his ability to take the fight to Norris on race day when speaking on the Inside Line F1 podcast.

Helmut Marko explains setup issue that impacted Max Verstappen in Dutch GP

The temperatures during the race were among the highest of the weekend, however it was clear from the long run pace on Friday that Red Bull would encounter some problems.

Marko explained that Red Bull made a miscalculation on a key area of their car setup, while also acknowledging that the conditions were ideal for McLaren.

“The set up from Max was not the right one. He had too much wing,” said Marko.

“It didn’t help our tyre degradation, because the tyre wear was much less than expected. The circuit suits McLaren, I would say very much. The temperature was also in favour of McLaren.”

Max Verstappen details issues with RB20

It was an alarming win for Norris considering Verstappen was comfortably taking victories at a similar margin at the beginning of the season.

After the race, Verstappen acknowledged that Red Bull is now fighting a problem with the RB20 that did not exist at the beginning of the season.

Red Bull brought its first major upgrade package to the Emilia Romagna GP, which was when the first signs of their downturn began. Norris was able to stay with Verstappen and challenge for the win in a car that was previously only good enough for second.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Fast forward to midway through the season and Verstappen is now winless in the last five races, having last taken a victory at the Spanish GP in June.

Technical director Pierre Wache has identified why Red Bull has struggled to produce effective upgrades, attributing it to their wind tunnel and the F1 aerodynamic testing restrictions which give Red Bull less time to test parts before fitting them to the car.