Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has surprisingly admitted that the team are now out of the running to win the F1 title this year.

The Milton Keynes-based team were beaten by rivals McLaren once again, with Oscar Piastri taking victory at the Baku Street circuit.

The Australian’s win, along with Lando Norris’ fourth place and Sergio Perez’s non-finish, put McLaren 20 points clear at the top of the constructors’ standings with seven races remaining.

When asked if Red Bull had given up hope of winning the title this year, Marko replied: “To be honest, yes.”

“The positive is that Oscar Piastri is close to Lando Norris in the points and has team orders at McLaren. So clarity won’t come so quickly.”

Norris was able to overtake Verstappen in Azerbaijan despite starting 15th.

The gap between the two drivers is now 59 points, with Marko also concerned that Verstappen could lose the drivers’ championship if Red Bull do not resolve the issues with the RB20 from the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix onwards.

“Max couldn’t even connect it,” he said. “The tyres were broken and the brake temperatures were rising. The car has potential, but the setup is still very sensitive.

“Progress is yet to be seen in Singapore. We’ll just have to see how we get through that race, but we really need to do better from Austin.

“Otherwise the drivers’ championship is also under threat.”