Marko reveals how track and setup elevated Red Bull in Jeddah

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has pulled back the curtain on how the team clawed its way back to form at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after a lacklustre display in Bahrain left many questioning its RB21’s level of performance.

Red Bull’s 2025 contender has proven tricky to master this season, oscillating between dominance and difficulty in the hands of Max Verstappen, largely depending on the track’s layout and surface.

Following the Dutchman’s commanding win in Japan, Verstappen trailed Bahrain Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri by over 30 seconds.

In his post-race column for Speedweek, Marko credited smart behind-the-scenes adjustments and a more tailored weekend approach for transforming Red Bull’s fortunes in Saudi Arabia.

Set-Up Changes Spark Saudi Surge

“Let’s focus on the positive: especially after the difficult weekend in Bahrain, there was a great sense of relief within the team, about how well things went in Jeddah,” Marko explained.

“This competitiveness also came as a bit of a surprise to us. We didn’t expect to have the upper hand against McLaren. It certainly didn’t look like that on Friday.

“The clear improvement compared to Bahrain is due to several factors. We went in the right direction in terms of setup and it has proven again: it is difficult to find the right setup with our car, but if we can find the best working window, the car is absolutely competitive.

“If it doesn’t work out, like in Bahrain, then we are hovering around sixth place.”

Track Conditions Key to Unlocking Performance

Jeddah’s high-speed layout and smooth tarmac played to the strengths of Red Bull’s RB21, which has struggled with corner balance and tyre management on more abrasive surfaces.

“The improvement also had to do with the characteristics of the circuit: in Bahrain there are mainly medium-speed corners and very rough asphalt,” Marko explained.

“Jeddah is completely different with very fast and flowing corners and asphalt that hardly causes any tyre wear.

“It was noticeable that the drivers hardly complained about the tyres during the race. The drivers were able to drive flat out for the most part.”

Bahrain, Marko added, served as a wake-up call to revisit how the team approaches race weekends.

“After the Bahrain GP, we said that Red Bull Racing needed to review the approach during practice,” the F1 veteran revealed.

“This has already been implemented in Jeddah, for example by making the qualifying simulations more realistic and thus giving us a better indication of where we stand.

Read on:

• Brundle: Verstappen’s Jeddah ‘gamble’ a rare misjudgment

“Our task at the moment is to develop a wider operating window for our race car. And also to reduce certain weaknesses of the car for the races in Europe, and thus improve the basic speed of the car.”

With planned upgrades for Miami and Imola, Red Bull aims to sustain this momentum, ensuring Verstappen remains a title contender in a season where every tweak counts.

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