Red Bull paints Max Verstappen a worrying picture

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes the RB21 will not be strong enough at Imola to allow Max Verstappen to compete for victory in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The Austrian feels the Milton Keynes squad's car is "too far away" from the constructors' championship-leading McLaren, which has enjoyed an advantage over the opposition all F1 season.

Whilst Max Verstappen was able to turn around a difficult Friday at the same circuit last year, the 82-year-old cannot see the Dutchman replicating that feat.

After a disastrous start to the weekend, the four-time F1 drivers' champion stole pole position and held off Lando Norris in impressive fashion.

However, this time around, Marko fears the MCL39 will be too formidable for the 27-year-old to pull off such heroics, with Verstappen having finished seventh and fifth in the opening two free practice sessions, whilst Oscar Piastri and Norris set consecutive one-twos. 

"McLaren's usual superiority is evident," the Austrian told media including RacingNews365. "Four tenths on this circuit is very, very much.

"We may still have details in the setup that will allow us to make the car a little less nervous. But basically McLaren is still superior.

"At the moment we are too far away," he added. "So we have made some changes. If we manage to make them work better on Saturday, then maybe we can [take pole], but in the race, as we have seen again, McLaren is in a class of its own."

The picture of how the grand prix will play out remains obscured, according to Marko, who was unable to give a clear answer over what he expects to see.

Nonetheless, he does not think the long run disparity was as "drastic" as FP1 and FP2 may have suggested.

"The tyre wear was different," he explained. "I also don't know if everyone used the same amount of fuel. We drove with our usual amount of fuel, but it seems others carried less. As far as the long runs are concerned, it wasn't that drastic."