Max Verstappen is Red Bull's 'joker' card according to Helmut Marko

McLaren can march to Melbourne and the Australian Grand Prix as the team to win the title, but Red Bull possesses the ‘joker card’ in Max Verstappen. That is the view of Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, who is convinced that the presence of Verstappen would be the difference maker in the title race this season. While pre-testing proves McLaren might lead, this secret card from Red Bull has left fans wondering what would happen on the big race day.

McLaren at the lead according to pre-testing results

Pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit provided teams and analysts with a preview of the competitive environment for the coming season. Fuel loads and engine settings were unknown, but figures indicated McLaren could be at the front of the pack, with Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari not far behind.

As McLaren's MCL39 shone in race simulations and demonstrated better tyre management, Marko conceded that the Woking-based team seems to have an early-season edge.

“In my opinion, it will be a three-way fight or four-way fight between McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, and us,” the Red Bull motorsport advisor told sport.de. “Although McLaren, if you look at the test results, already has a head start. That was the case in both the short and long runs."

Pressed to estimate how big McLaren's lead is, Marko said they might be up to three-tenths of a second ahead in race conditions.

“It’s hard to say exactly what that looks like because the weather conditions were completely out of the norm,” Marko said. “It was cold; there was a strong wind. It even rained. It was only the case on Wednesday when we were on par with McLaren. But on Friday, on the last day, I would say that our gap in the long run is currently still two to three tenths. On top of that, the tyre wear at McLaren was also much better than our data indicated.”

Verstappen's advantage over McLaren's equal standing

While McLaren appears to have the upper hand, Marko identifies Red Bull's ace in Verstappen. McLaren has an equal standing between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, whereas Red Bull possesses a number-one driver in Verstappen, something Marko feels may give them the edge in the title battle.

“If you look at the test in Bahrain, it’s Lando Norris, who coped much better than Oscar Piastri,” said Marko. “But I think that was just a phenomenon of Bahrain. I rate Piastri equally strong, and I hope that the two will take points away and that we will benefit from that.

He also pointed to the in-house rivalry at McLaren and indicated that it may be a chink in their armor. “Max is the clear number one for us, and I don’t think Piastri will voluntarily be declared number two. And you could already see that last season, on certain tracks, he was equal, if not faster, than Lando."

Red Bull's RB21: A work in progress

Marko admitted that the RB21 is still far from its peak but believes there is potential in its growth. “It would have been nice if our adaptations and innovations had worked right away,” he conceded. “[But] the car is more predictable. The car reacts to technical things the way it should react. It’s not the arbitrariness we had last year. This means that there is still a development and improvement in the realm of what is possible with the existing material.”

And even if the RB21 is not yet capable of matching the MCL39, Marko is sure that Verstappen will close the gap. “So if the car is not optimal, then we have the joker Max, who then has to bring his driving brilliance into play,” he added.

Also read: Former world champion slams Red Bull for not protecting Max Verstappen

With McLaren starting this year as an early favorite but Red Bull banking on Verstappen's raw talent, the stage for an exciting title war in 2025 is set.