Red Bull is undoubtedly concerned after his commanding victory on Max Verstappen’s home circuit.
Helmut Marko, the motorsport advisor for Red Bull, called Norris’ victory “alarming” after the race. He made it clear that Norris was referring to both the drivers’ championship, in which Verstappen still holds a commanding 70-point lead, and the constructors’ championship, in which it was already obvious that Red Bull was in trouble.
Verstappen himself did not disagree, either. He hasn’t won since the Spanish Grand Prix five races ago in June.
Verstappen remarked, “This weekend was just a bad weekend overall.”
However, the previous several races haven’t exactly been outstanding. Thus, that was already, I believe, a little concerning.
“But we are aware that there is no reason for alarm. All we’re attempting to do is make things better. And we are focusing on it. However, Formula One is incredibly intricate.”
In terms of the winner’s advantage over his nearest competitor, Norris’ triumph was the second most dominant of the entire year. The only other race where Verstappen crossed the finish line ahead of Norris by 22.9 seconds was the season’s first race in Bahrain, where he was 25 seconds ahead of the first non-Red Bull.