Marko demands Red Bull investigate ‘serious situation’ after woeful qualifying

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has called on the team to get to the bottom of the “situation” it finds itself in with the performance of the RB20.

The Austrian believes things are “starting to get serious” after its disappointing display in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen will line up at Monza in seventh, with Sergio Perez alongside him in eighth. To make things worse, championship rivals McLaren locked-out the front row.

The Woking-based squad trails Red Bull by only 30 points in the constructors’ standings. If the reigning champions are to stand any chance of defending its title, it has to find a way to improve the RB20 – and quickly.

“We have to find the moment when we took the wrong turn,” Marko told Sky Sports Germany after the grid-setting session.

“Then you have to look at Miami, because at that time we were still dominant. The races Max [Verstappen] won after that, he won because of his qualities.”

However, the Austrian was quick to highlight the magnitude of the task facing Red Bull.

The Milton Keynes team has struggled to deliver successful upgrades this season as the more it has ported onto the RB20, the more unsettled and difficult to balance the car has become.

“But with the complexity of these cars, it becomes very difficult,” the 81-year-old added.

“Thank God we have some time towards the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, because now it was practically impossible to implement anything. But the situation is starting to get serious.”