Red Bull's motorsport consultant Helmut Marko believes Max Verstappen has a car that will enable him to compete with the McLarens, in qualifying at least, at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.
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Verstappen reignited hopes of a fifth straight world title with victories at the last two Formula One races but had gone into the weekend with modest expectations at a circuit where Red Bull have rarely enjoyed success.
The Dutchman expressed himself satisfied with a top-three spot on the timesheets in both practice sessions on Friday, however, and Marko thought he would be able to fight it out for pole position on Saturday.
"It was the best Friday since, I don't know how many years here, so we definitely made a step forward," the veteran Austrian former driver told reporters.
"I think in qualifying it will be within hundredths of seconds. But basically, Max is happy with the car. There are still some little things to adjust and in the end, it will be very, very tight."
Verstappen and the two teammates he has had this year, Liam Lawson and now Yuki Tsunoda, struggled with the Red Bull car for much of the season until a recent upgrade.
"The car is better, in the past, (Max) was always complaining it was jumping like a kangaroo," Marko added.
"Now it's much better over the curbs, and also understeer is less, so little tweaks and let's hope they are working."
Three accidents took a big chunk of time out of Friday's second session so Marko was a little more cautious over how the car would run during Sunday's race.
"So far, it looks positive, but nobody could make a long run because of the red flag situation. So it's difficult to say how the long runs will be," he said.
"I mean, these short laps with not much fuel on board, the soft tyre looked competitive, but let's see what happens tomorrow."
Marko also helps out with the Racing Bulls junior team, whose French driver Isack Hadjar further bolstered his already considerable stock with the second fastest time in Friday's second session behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.
"He was very impressive," he said.
"After two laps, he was already with the fastest cars, and now he did a very good lap too. So he's progressing, and he's doing what we are expecting from him."