Red Bull issued with upgrade ultimatum in F1 title fight

Helmut Marko has stated categorically the planned Red Bull upgrades on the car for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix "must work" as it comes under serious threat from F1 rivals McLaren and Mercedes.

Although Red Bull has won seven of the 12 races so far and holds comfortable leads in both the drivers' and constructors' standings, the RB20 has been off the pace in recent races as updates introduced at Imola in May have not worked as intended.

As a result, McLaren and Mercedes have put the team under severe pressure at a time when the challenge from Ferrari has faded since Charles Leclerc won the Monaco Grand Prix. 

Heading into the Hungarian GP weekend, a race Max Verstappen has won in the previous two seasons, motorsport advisor Marko is keen to see a much-needed upgrade package brought to the car.

"The bottom line for us is that everything has to fit perfectly for us to win, there can't be the slightest mistake," Marko wrote in his Speedweek column. 

"We were too slow on the medium tyre [at Silverstone] but thank God there will be an update in Budapest and we hope this will bring us a step forward again. 

"One thing is certain, the update must work because we are currently behind McLaren on pace, and, if you look at the British GP, also behind Mercedes.

"The fact that the temperatures play a major role or that a car that is good in Barcelona can also cope well on all other tracks is a wisdom that I no longer fully believe in.

"All of this is called into question by the tyre situation. It's obviously crucial to get into the right temperature window, but the Red Bull is still not the fastest car at the moment and we have to correct that with the update."

No consistent challenger for Red Bull

Although Red Bull has struggled for pace, it is yet to face a sustained period of pressure from a single team, with Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes all taking turns to appear as the closest challengers to the F1 champions. 

It is something Marko picked up on, whilst at the same time completely dismissing the threat from Ferrari. 

"Of course, it helps that Red Bull's opponents are taking turns at the front, but we can't rely on that," he added. "I also believe that Ferrari are no longer in the game.

"We have to be able to win again under our own steam, that's the aim. 

"There are still 12 race weekends ahead of us and you can't rely on the fact that there are always others behind and now also in front of us and that we will benefit from this."

Marko has also again applied pressure on the under-performing Sergio Perez who appears to have two grands prix to save his seat despite only signing a contract extension at the start of June.

Poor qualifying form and scoring just 15 points in the last six races has placed his position in jeopardy going into the Hungarian race and the Belgian Grand Prix that follows the week after. 

"We also need two drivers at the front in terms of the constructors' championship, and we still hope that Sergio will find his form again," he said. 

"We will evaluate the situation after the next two races during the summer break and then we will see what happens."