Marko makes 'worrying' Colapinto comparison after Verstappen struggle

Dr. Helmut Marko has stressed that "nothing worked" on Max Verstappen's car during the opening day of the Singapore Grand Prix. 

The reigning world champion found himself down in P15 at the close of second practice, and 1.3s slower than Lando Norris' lead time.

Red Bull's advisor revealed that Verstappen had no grip on Pirelli's soft or hard compounds, triggering alarm bells at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

"Nothing worked on Max's car," Marko told Sky Sport DE. "He had no grip on the soft and hard tyres and the balance was not right. 

"Right now I would say that the situation is very worrying and we have to try something drastically. We are going to see what we can try."

A concerning matter for Marko is that Verstappen's pace was similar to Williams' rookie driver Franco Colapinto, in what is just his third Grand Prix. 

Verstappen was also significantly slower than team-mate Sergio Perez, who was eighth in second practice but still one-second down on Norris' quickest time. 

Red Bull did not expect to be strong in Singapore this weekend given its current balance issues, but also because it was a challenging venue for the team last season. 

Last year, the Singapore GP was the only race the Austrian outfit did not win. Marko is adamant that Red Bull cannot standstill, despite having been conscious a bad weekend was likely.

"We can't accept that," Marko insisted. "We have to figure things out to make sure we are more competitive. 

"I just looked and we have the same pace as Franco Colapinto..."