Helmut Marko shares Red Bull's F1 Azerbaijan GP expectations after the disastrous race in Monza

Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko believes that the RB20 could be able to fight for the podium at the F1 Azerbaijan GP after a disastrous weekend in Monza. The Austrian team had a disastrous run at the race in Italy, where the car was only fourth fastest. So much so that Max Verstappen didn't even have a hope of finishing in the top 5.

After the race, Verstappen's primary adversary for the title, Lando Norris, was able to close the gap to him in the championship by eight more points, cutting the lead down to 62. With McLaren bringing down the championship deficit to Red Bull to single digits, the pressure is on the Austrian team to turn things around soon enough.

However, Red Bull's Helmut Marko was quite optimistic about the race weekend as he felt that the team could fight for a podium in Baku. Marko said, via Racing News 365:

"If things go optimally for us, a podium is perhaps possible. We have to find the balance with the car, which is especially important in Baku because there are hardly any run-off areas. It should be better than in Monza, but there will only be real progress in Austin."

He added,

"[Max] has seen that he is being listened to now and that the problems are being taken seriously. Right now, tuning the car is still a bit of a lottery, especially for Baku and Singapore."

The team is also bringing a new floor that's supposed to help with the balance of the car. The team has been primarily struggling with the balance on the RB20. The current floor is what has been termed a 'patchwork' solution for the time being.

Max Verstappen feels neither of the two titles is "realistic" for Red Bull if Monza form sustains

Max Verstappen was not too confident heading into the F1 Azerbaijan GP, as he felt that Red Bull wouldn't be able to achieve any title if its form in Monza became the norm. The driver holds a 62-point advantage over Lando Norris in the championship, while the team itself has seen the lead drop down to just the single digits.

Talking about the championship prospects, he told the media, including Racingnews365:

"If we perform like Monza, it’s not realistic. So we definitely need to be better than what we have been delivering lately. We know that. If we can find a better balance with the car, then actually we’ll be more competitive. But if more competitive is enough, I don’t know.”

Red Bull has started the F1 Azerbaijan GP race weekend on a positive note, with Max Verstappen topping FP1. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to keep the same form throughout.