Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko called Max Verstappen’s early exit from the Austrian Grand Prix a “black day,” acknowledging that the world champion’s hopes for the title have nearly faded. Team principal Christian Horner shared the sentiment, stating that the championship battle is now between two main contenders.
McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri secured a commanding one-two finish, while Verstappen’s race ended after a collision with Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes at the third turn on the opening lap, forcing both cars out.
With this result, Verstappen now trails Piastri by 61 points in the standings, a gap that seems insurmountable given McLaren’s clear speed advantage over the rest of the grid.
“This is a black day,” Marko said. “The deficit is too big to overcome. Unless something drastic changes, we have to accept that the title is out of reach.”
“McLaren’s performance is staggering—their pace in this heat is exceptional. They’re nearly half a second faster per lap here, which is concerning. Their dominance is clear, and we don’t yet have an answer for it.”
Though 13 races remain, Red Bull’s updates in Austria failed to close the gap to McLaren. Horner admitted that Norris and Piastri’s form at the Red Bull Ring highlighted their significant edge, especially in tire management.
“It’s clearly a battle between two teams now,” Horner said. “McLaren is racing among themselves, with a comfortable lead over everyone else. For us, it’s about taking each race as it comes—championship talk isn’t even on our minds.”
“The most impressive thing is how closely Oscar could follow Lando, even with a heavy fuel load early on. He stayed right behind lap after lap without destroying his tires. No other car could do that without losing performance. That’s their strength.”
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