Jos Verstappen has warned Red Bull, should the team fail to retain the World title with Max Verstappen, not to look to the driver for blame because they are the ones that need to perform.

Verstappen will line up on the Albert Park grid next Sunday, seeking to get his title defence off to a perfect start with 25 World Championship points.

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Today though, Helmut Marko believes McLaren may be the favourites for the win at round one as Red Bull’s RB21 was lagging behind during the long runs in pre-season testing.

“We were still two to three tenths behind in the long run,” he said after Formula 1 wrapped up testing at the Bahrain circuit. “What’s more, McLaren’s tyre wear was also significantly better than our data indicated.”

Red Bull technical guru Pierre Wache also declared that McLaren are ahead of Red Bull, with Ferrari also potentially faster in a long run.

“At the moment it doesn’t look like we are quick enough, but after we will see,” he said. “It looks like McLaren and Ferrari are quicker.”

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Although the general consensus coming out of pre-season testing was that McLaren are leading the field, it does look tight between Red Bull, Ferrari and also Mercedes.

That plays to the much-voiced opinion that the F1 2025 championship will see a four-way fight for the Constructors’ Championship while Verstappen’s World title is under threat.

While last year he wrapped it up with two races to spare, recovering from a 10-race winless streak, to make it four on the trot, this year it could go down to the wire.

And if Verstappen loses it, Jos already knows who he’s pointing his finger at.

Speaking to Radio Joe about Verstappen’s decision to remain with Red Bull for the F1 2025 season, he said: “That had been decided for a long time.

“We have confidence in the team and we give them our trust, but it won’t be Max’s fault if things don’t go well.

“They must continue to perform. They need to keep building a good car, that’s important.”

Verstappen spent much of last season fending off rumours that he could be off to Mercedes while already this year he’s been linked to Aston Martin in a deal said to be worth $1 billion.

Although he does have a contract with Red Bull until 2028, Marko has admitted there are performance clauses that would allow the four-time World Champion to leave if the team doesn’t perform.

“As in every Formula 1 contract, there are clauses if certain success quality criteria are not met,” Marko said last year in the midst of the Mercedes rumours. “These are also included in Max’s contract.

“I don’t think an incomprehensible amount of money is an issue for Max.

“If we are not in a position to provide him with a car that is capable of winning…of course he’s interested in success as a racing driver. You don’t get any younger,” he continued.

“And if he doesn’t see the light with Red Bull and these criteria come into play, then it’s quite clear that he’ll look around.”

From his side, Verstappen has said several times that as long as he’s “happy” at Red Bull, he sees “no reason to leave”.