Red Bull's need to enhance their performance in the closing stages of 2024 is becoming critical, as team advisor Dr. Helmut Marko openly acknowledged on Sunday.
Despite Max Verstappen securing P2 in both qualifying and the race in Singapore, Lando Norris dominated the event in his McLaren.
"It's crazy how he pulled away," Marko admitted.
"Our deficit is alarming. We urgently need performance."
"Thank God we now have four weeks to work on it. There should be a lot to come," Marko added.
Red Bull went to extreme lengths to limit the points gap to Norris in the drivers' standings, with Daniel Ricciardo in the sister team RB, in what was likely his final grand prix, making a late pit stop to prevent Norris from grabbing the fastest lap point.
"Thank you, Daniel," Verstappen said over the team radio, a message that infuriated Ricciardo's former team, McLaren.
"It is disappointing from a sporting point of view," McLaren CEO Zak Brown told ORF. "There should be no A and B teams or sporting cooperation on the track. And that is exactly what it was.
"Hopefully this point will not make the difference in the end," Brown added.
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher was dismissive of Brown's complaints. "What does he mean unfair? It's just the way it is, and what they did was fine," Schumacher commented.
Red Bull, on the other hand, seems to have given up on the constructors' title, with team principal Christian Horner calling McLaren "unbeatable in this form."
