Verstappen and Marko hold 'extensive' talks over 'extraordinary' Norris

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that he spoke "extensively" with Max Verstappen following Lando Norris' "extraordinary" Singapore Grand Prix win. 

Verstappen finished in a surprise second at the Marina Bay Circuit but was 21 seconds behind Norris. 

Norris was dominant throughout the Singapore GP, with pole position having also been claimed by the McLaren driver. 

The Briton would have secured a grand chelem, had Daniel Ricciardo not snatched the fastest lap on the final lap of the race.

Marko recognises that Verstappen now must recover across the next couple of weeks to prepare for the title fight against Norris.

"We spoke extensively on the phone on Tuesday," Marko revealed to Motorsport-Total. 

"There are still some PR activities, but in general he needs to recover to be ready for what is definitely going to be a very close and tough title fight."

Norris 'dominance'

Norris' victory in Singapore saw Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship reduce to 52 points with six races remaining. 

The three-time world champion had no answer to Norris' pace in the most recent round, which Marko puts down to how strong the Briton was on the medium compound. 

As explained by Marko, Norris was considerably quicker than Verstappen on the medium tyres every lap. 

What is alarming for Red Bull, is that even if the RB20 did not have its current issues, Norris' pace still would not be possible. 

"Well, Lando's dominance was mainly due to the medium tyre," explained Marko. "He was picking up nine tenths to one-second per lap on us. 

"It's also extraordinary that if our cars were, let's say, optimised, Verstappen wouldn't have been able to set those times on the medium tyre. And we all wonder how that's possible."