Helmut Marko gives four-word response when asked if Red Bull has written off F1 Constructors’ battle

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Red Bull has now been overtaken by McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, following a late crash for Sergio Perez.

The Milton Keynes squad held an eight-point advantage heading into the final eight races of the season, but after the race in Baku, they have now slipped behind McLaren by 20 points.

A late crash between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez cost Red Bull a potential 18 points, while the incident promoted Lando Norris to fourth and gained them four points.

With Oscar Piastri’s victory and a poor finish from Max Verstappen, who suffered from car balance issues for most of the race and was overtaken by Norris in the closing stages, Red Bull only scored 10 points versus 40 points for McLaren.

When asked about whether Red Bull is focused on regaining the Constructors’ Championship lead, team advisor Helmut Marko gave a four-word response when speaking on Servus TV after the race.

Red Bull no longer focused on the Constructors’ Championship

After the race at Monza, a senior member of the Red Bull team reportedly told someone at McLaren that they were no longer focused on defending their Constructors’ crown.

Following successive difficult weekends for Red Bull and Verstappen, it was hoped that a minor floor upgrade would put them back on the right track.

Perez was in his usual Baku form before the collision with Sainz, while Verstappen could not get the car in the right setup window all weekend. Marko was not overly optimistic about their chances when asked if they could retake the lead.

“To be honest, yes,” said Marko.

“We believe from Austin onwards that we have a package which should make us more or even really competitive. But we have to wait until Austin.”

Red Bull loses 100-point lead to McLaren

At the beginning of the season, it felt like Red Bull was picking up where it left off having taken four wins in five races.

Their points deficit to McLaren after the Chinese Grand Prix was 195 points to just 96 for McLaren. Now the Woking outfit has overtaken them with seven races left to run.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Norris has also reduced the deficit to Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship to just 59 points, which puts him in prime position to make use of another poor outing at Singapore if Red Bull continue to struggle like they did last year.

McLaren is now chasing its ninth Constructors’ Championship and their first since the 1998 season, having taken the lead in the table for the first time since the 2014 season.