Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confessed that Red Bull made a major mistake earlier this season during the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit has failed to win a race since Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix, meaning Red Bull are on an eight-race winless streak.
McLaren has taken control of the F1 constructors' championship and has a 41-point lead, ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
Lando Norris is also catching Verstappen in the drivers' standings, and sits 52 points behind with six races remaining.
A title fight between Verstappen and Norris has become increasingly obvious, with Marko pinpointing the Austrian Grand Prix as where he recognised a battle was on the cards.
"Gradually that has become more and more obvious," Marko told Motorsport Magazin.
"At the Austrian Grand Prix, Max drove another great lap in qualifying. I think we were about three tenths faster on the short circuit.
"After one bad pit-stop, Norris was suddenly on his tail and I believe the DRS was very effective at the Red Bull Ring."
Of course, Verstappen and Norris went onto clash at Turn 3, although it is at Zandvoort where Marko concedes Red Bull made a crucial error.
Verstappen started second at his home race alongside Norris on pole, and overtook the Briton into the first corner.
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Marko hopeful of turnaround
Red Bull, according to Marko, assumed that Norris would not be able to overtake the Dutchman during the race, if Verstappen gained the race lead at the first corner.
The Austrian outfit was wrong, as Norris overtook Verstappen during the first stint and won by 23 seconds.
"At Zandvoort we thought overtaking was impossible if we 'won' at the start," explained Marko. "That was a complete miscalculation. There Lando drove away from us."
Since the closing rounds prior to the summer break, Red Bull has fallen behind McLaren in the championship and in terms of performance.
Verstappen has been relied on for big points, most recently in the Singapore Grand Prix where he claimed an unexpected podium.
"We gradually fell further and further back and it was mainly Max who was bringing in the points," added Marko.
"At some point it became clear that we had to find speed. We have to develop a car that Max can attack with, because just betting on second place was not enough."
Red Bull improved across Baku and Singapore and are introducing a significant upgrade for the Spanish Grand Prix, where Marko is hopeful a turnaround will be completed.
"There are still six races to go," said Marko. "We are already assuming that the trend we saw in Singapore and Baku, with a few changes in Austin, is going to provide the necessary turnaround.
"If that turnaround actually happens, then Sergio Perez will also perform better again. Then we also have a chance at the constructors' title."
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