Helmut Marko shares what Max Verstappen must do to make McLaren ‘nervous’ after Baku victory

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Max Verstappen claimed his second consecutive win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as McLaren dropped more points to the defending champion.

The Dutchman continued his form from Monza a fortnight ago to achieve a Grand Slam in Baku. Verstappen secured pole position in fine style as he beat Carlos Sainz by over half a second, as multiple drivers struggled for grip.

Verstappen was nine tenths quicker than Lando Norris in sector two during qualifying, suggesting that the McLaren star was not as brave as his title rival. The Red Bull driver has enjoyed a resurgence in recent weeks while the leaders are beginning to crumble.

McLaren could only manage fourth and fifth at Monza, which allowed Verstappen to close the gap in the drivers’ championship. The 27-year-old has said he is out of the running for the title, but the Azerbaijan Grand Prix gives him and Red Bull more reason to believe.

Helmut Marko says Max Verstappen must get as close to McLaren as possible in Singapore to make them ‘nervous’ about the title

McLaren suffered their worst weekend of the season in Baku as Oscar Piastri crashed in Q3 while Norris could only manage P7. Another slow pit stop left the Brit finishing where he started, while his teammate did not even complete a full lap.

Piastri crashed at turn five after he jumped the start. The championship leader’s disaster in Baku means that Verstappen is now 69 points behind the Aussie with seven races to go.

It is a huge margin to cut down, but Verstappen still has many opportunities left to claim a fifth consecutive title. Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko says he must get close to McLaren in Singapore to make them ‘nervous’ about the title.

“What Andrea said is very optimistic, but I hope he’s right,” he said via De Telegraaf. “The gap is still big, and it’s not often that a McLaren doesn’t finish the race. But we’ll see. If we’re competitive in Singapore in two weeks’ time, maybe we can start dreaming.

“Not only is it a different circuit, but it’s also boiling hot. Our car doesn’t always like that either. Singapore will be the benchmark for where we really stand. And we’ve always said: we have to be as close as possible to McLaren to make them nervous.”

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Marko believes Piastri is the ‘favourite’ for the title over Norris. Given the team’s dominance in 2025 – they have won all but five races thus far – they should be a shoo-in for the championship, but recent races could have put that in doubt.

McLaren boss Andrea Stella claims that Red Bull are now equal to them in terms of performance. Laurent Mekies has dramatically improved the mood at Red Bull since replacing Christian Horner as team principal.

This resurgence has given the Milton Keynes outfit a much-needed confidence boost across the board. Yuki Tsunoda grabbed his best finish for the team in Baku with P6, while Verstappen controlled the race for his fourth win of 2025.

Of course, 69 points is a big gap to make up in the standings. But with McLaren’s current struggles, the momentum could be on Verstappen’s side if he can have a strong weekend in Singapore.