Austrian talent spotter and Red Bull advisor Dr.Helmut Marko has claimed Max Verstappen contested the Portuguese Grand Prix without the team's latest upgrades and has reiterated that the Milton Keynes-based outfit will not give up on their 2021 Formula 1 challenger. After winning the second round of the 2021 championship in Imola, the Red Bull Racing team arrived in Portimao hoping to leapfrog Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in both the drivers and constructors championships. Unfortunately, the Austrian team struggled to cope with the pace of the reigning champions and Verstappen eventually had to settle for second place. Marko believes this is merely a blip with the Dutchman not even running Red Bull's latest updates. "Only Perez drove the full package, Max did without the wing," Marko told Auto Motor und Sport. The Austrian went on to state that the Milton Keynes-based outfit will continue developing its car into the summer break, stating the team can't let Verstappen down now that he has a car to challenge for the championship. "We can't do that to Max, now that he has a car for the first time with which he can become world champion, we will see further depending on the World Cup standing," Marko said in relation to Red Bull's development of their 2021 challenger. Red Bull and Verstappen currently lie second in their respective championships, with Verstappen experiencing his best-ever start to a Formula 1 season. The team will be hoping that the race circuit in Barcelona is better suited to the characteristics of the RB16B as they look to bounce back from a disappointing weekend in Portugal.
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