Helmut Marko aired out possible concerns for Red Bull in a recent interview ahead of the season opener in Australia. The 81-year-old has seen the potential of the team firsthand in the pre-season tests and concluded that they will have troubles.
The 2025 pre-season tests showcased some interesting results, especially Williams, but it is McLaren that the Austrian is most concerned about.
Helmut Marko reveals gap between Red Bull and McLaren
McLaren is the favorite team heading into Melbourne. During the 2024 season, they managed to snag victory at the WCC from both Red Bull and Ferrari. The Woking-based team hope to pick up where they left off as this year’s Australian Grand Prix approaches.
The Papaya team enjoyed a great pre-season test; however, according to Marko, they are still hiding their true potential.
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“McLaren was clearly superior,” stated Marko.
“In the short runs, they didn’t show that… they drove out: sector one, best time. Sector two, boom. And then they returned to pits.”
“So they tried to conceal their true potential.” he added.
The Papaya team seems to have massively sandbagged their performances in the pre-season tests, according to Helmut Marko. McLaren didn’t drive the full track in Bahrain. They always managed to pull off the best time in the initial two sectors before returning to the pits.
When they did run a full lap, they set the highest times with ease, as seen on Day 1 with Lando Norris on top of the charts. With the blitzing speeds that McLaren can pull off even with sandbagging, Helmut Marko has even more bad news for Red Bull and the rest of the grid.
Helmut Marko predicts a McLaren 1-2 in Australia
Red Bull’s senior advisor also noted a bigger picture with McLaren’s runs. While the Papaya team didn’t top the speed charts, they still had the fastest sector times.
“They were still not at the front in the top speed measurements.”
“This again suggests that they did not drive with full engine power. So if this is the result in Australia, then it is clearly first and second.”
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Not only are McLaren predicted to be 1-2 in Australia, they are also “half to one second faster” than Red Bull across a lap. From what we can see, we will potentially see Red Bull levels of domination from McLaren in the opening rounds of the 2025 season.
The Woking-based outfit managed to turn things around after Miami in 2024, when their upgrades and strategic decisions led them to have the strongest car on the grid. They won the WCC, but lost out on the WDC by 63 points. McLaren will aim to put their hands on both championships this year.
Do you think McLaren and their drivers can win both the Constructors’ Championship and the Drivers’ Championship in 2025? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
