Helmut Marko admits Red Bull “had already given up”…

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has admitted the team "had already given up" during the summer months ahead of the renewed motivation it's now seeing under the leadership of Laurent Mekies.

Speaking to Sky Sports Germany following the United States Grand Prix, the Austrian explained where the boost in performance had stemmed from as Max Verstappen finished a perfect weekend in Austin.

With Verstappen just 40 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, Marko cautioned against the idea that his driver could be within 'striking distance'.

“Well, ‘striking distance’ is a bit of an exaggeration with a 40-point deficit. But five races, two of them sprints. If we can maintain this form, then it really can get exciting again,” he said. He added that the race itself was “incredibly exciting” from the Red Bull pitwall.

“We were always monitoring the gap and the pace relative to Leclerc and Lando. Whenever necessary, Max responded.”

Changes implemented by the former Racing Bulls chief have already made a difference, according to the Milton Keynes stalwart.

"There’s been a change. And Laurent managed to introduce a different approach in the technical set-up and the overall way of working. We’re no longer miles off on Fridays,” he said. “And suddenly, also Max, with his Nürburgring victory, came back incredibly motivated. Honestly, during the summer, we had already given up. And now everyone’s hungry again.”

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc started on soft tyres, giving Red Bull an example of success that Verstappen would exploit during his second stint.

“It wasn’t originally planned to use the soft tyre, or even the hard. But as we saw with a few cars, how poorly the hard performed… yes, Leclerc made life a bit easier for us. But still, we had the speed to hold position even against Lando,” Marko said.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (Photo by: Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)

Despite the excitement of a championship race starting to come to the team, Marko is keen to maintain his expectations, although the stars are starting to slowly align for the four-time world champion.

“We take it race by race and try to perform as well as possible each time. There’s hope, as there are still two sprint races. Max is, I believe, the record holder in sprint races,” he noted, before pointing to rain during the next round that could be leveraged by the experienced driver. “I’ve also heard that it might rain in Mexico. Then Max’s performance will be the decisive factor anyway.

"But it’s a flow, a real flow. We’re enjoying it, but working hard to keep it going.”