Marko delivers Red Bull assessment after crucial Austin F1 upgrades

Helmut Marko has delivered a positive assessment of Red Bull's United States F1 upgrades after Max Verstappen grabbed sprint pole.

Having seen the performance levels of the RB20 drop-off considerably over the summer, Red Bull introduced a much-vaunted floor upgrade in Austin, to compliment a package brought to the Azerbaijan GP in September.

Verstappen duly used the new parts to earn his first pole of any kind since the Austrian GP in June, although he did qualify fastest in Belgium before an engine penalty.

This, coupled with title rival Lando Norris taking fourth for the shorter race, means Verstappen has a prime opportunity to extend his 52-point lead over the McLaren driver, as Marko was enthused about the new parts.

"It was to do with the upgrade, but also with the qualities of Max and the track itself," he told Motorsport Magazin of Verstappen's pole.

"The direction of the technical upgrades seems to be working, and since Baku, we have been able to take a step forward and here is the moment to introduce the final package of upgrades [for the season].

"In practice, we have already seen that we can absolutely compete at the front, at least over one lap. We also did expect Ferrari to be our strongest opponent here, so in that respect, Friday was all about good news. 

"A lot can still be said about the long runs, but the circuit works in our favour as neither Baku or Singapore suit Max or the team, but that he was able to set a good lap at the crucial moment says a lot.

"The circuits that are still on the calendar this season are not slow and they are also not really tracks where we have to deal with kerbs that much. 

"So I do assume that the performance we show in Austin should also be possible at other circuits, although of course, the differences at the front are very small."