Red Bull identify Max Verstappen problem after 'worst weekend so far'

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko believes the team has pinpointed the issue that plagued Max Verstappen during the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The four-time F1 drivers' champion started eighth and finished ninth in the Hungaroring after a frustrating afternoon at the end of a painful weekend for the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Marko labelled it the team's "worst" round all year with the six-time constructors' champions unable to remedy its usual Friday ailments, leaving Verstappen scrapping to reach Q3 after Yuki Tsunoda had become a Q1 casualty for the fourth time in eight grand prix.

The latter endured a quiet afternoon from a pit lane start to P16, only a mid-race tussle with Nico Hulkenberg saving him from complete anonymity.

Whilst Verstappen put on an overtaking clinic, the team's early undercut pit stop strategy left him in traffic and struggling to recoup track position.

Jeopardy loomed over the Dutchman after the stewards opted to investigate his clash with Lewis Hamilton, which ultimately came to nought, following the race.

Red Bull flirted with the idea of a one-stop strategy for the 27-year-old, but having pitted early for the hard compound, it was always a long shot and was eventually decided against.

When Verstappen was brought in for the second time from fifth, it consigned him to his lowly result, a fate worsened by a fundamental failing on the outskirts of Budapest, according to Marko.

"It was our worst weekend so far," the Austrian told ServusTV. "We didn't get the tyres working for a moment.

"Max Verstappen very briefly drove as fast as the front of the field, but that only lasted two or three laps.

"Maybe a one-stop would have been faster, but even then, he would only have been sixth or seventh."

The 82-year-old did, however, feel the team's difficulties were an outlier, suggesting it had already identified what went wrong.

"But we think we know what went wrong," he later explained to media, including RacingNews365. "The tyres didn't work.

"With that, it's only about this weekend. I don't think it will happen again, if that was indeed the reason."