As for the team that he felt was a “little bit disappointing”, it was Ferrari.
F1 2025’s pre-season testing began at the Bahrain International Circuit on Wednesday with Lando Norris leading the running with a 1:30.430, which put him 0.157s up on George Russell.
Max Verstappen, who took over from his new team-mate Liam Lawson in the afternoon, was third with a 1:30.674 to sit two tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc. All four leading drivers set their fastest lap times on the C3 Pirelli tyres.
But while their laps were by no means glory runs on low fuel, Marko was more interested in how the cars performed over long runs on high fuel loads.
And it’s there that he believes Red Bull’s F1 car could be back at the front with the team having “maybe” resolved all of last year’s balance issues.
“The long runs were really competitive,” he told the Dutch media in Bahrain. “It was the fastest. The car is more predictable and reacts to the changes in the normal way.
“So all the problems we had last year, I believe they are much better – or maybe they are sorted.”
Asked if the RB21 had met his expectations, he replied: “Basically, yes. Okay. It’s a wider range and so more predictable for the drivers.”
Marko conceded that other teams also stood out on the opening day with McLaren and Mercedes taking the top two spots on the timesheets.
However, he wasn’t particularly impressed with what he saw from Ferrari with Leclerc fourth and Lewis Hamilton down in 13th place.
“McLaren was also very consistent and fast. Same with Mercedes,” he said. “The lower temperatures could perhaps explain why Mercedes was so fast.
“A little bit disappointing as we expected more from Ferrari, but there are two more days, so we’ll see.”
Red Bull’s lead driver Verstappen, who is chasing a fifth successive World Championship in F1 2025, was also happy with the opening day according to Marko.
“Good,” he said. “He says the car is more complex and is more put together. And, whatever they do with changes, the car is reacting in the right way.
“And on his fastest lap, he had a little moment so a little more would have been possible. But overall, we say that long runs were really impressive and our tyre wear was very good.”
As for Verstappen, he also shared his thoughts on the day but was more cautious than Marko about the pace of his RB21 given it was only the first day.
“Everything felt good. Only good surprises which was good,” said the Dutchman.
“We don’t know pace yet but everything is working well and the car is doing what I want it to do. It is all in control and that is what we can hope for really to start of my testing.
“We are constantly learning and trying different things and will continue to do so.
“It is not about hitting the perfect lap but it is about working on our testing programme and learning what direction we need to push the car forwards to get it under control.”
