Helmut Marko mocks McLaren with “sportsmanship” jibe at Italian Grand Prix

Helmut Marko jokingly thanked McLaren for their “sportsmanship” after throwing away the Italian Grand Prix F1 race victory.

McLaren are now just eight points behind Red Bull in the F1 constructors’ championship.

The Woking outfit could have led the standings after Monza had they secured a 1-2 finish.

However, their decision to switch Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to a two-stop strategy was a costly one.

This allowed Charles Leclerc to take the lead of the race, which he held on to, on the one-stop strategy.

Norris’ third-place finish means he only reduced Max Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ championship by eight points - it’s now 62 points ahead of Azerbaijan.

Speaking to Dutch publication de Telegraaf, Marko dismissed that it was a “disappointing result” before mocking McLaren.

“A disappointing result? No way,” he said. “We had seen this coming a bit and I want to congratulate Ferrari on the victory and thank McLaren for their sportsmanship.

“I appreciate that, and it makes our situation a bit better."

Red Bull endured a miserable weekend with Verstappen only able to finish sixth.

Sixth is his worst on-track finish since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

With Red Bull struggling so much, they’re under threat in both championships, particularly with Baku and Singapore coming up - circuits which aren’t expected to suit them.

The good news for Red Bull is that there is a month gap to the American run of races, giving them crucial time to potentially find solutions to allow Verstappen to take his fourth world title this year.

Marko remains confident Verstappen will continue to make the difference in 2024.

“Mentally and also qualitatively, Max is still the strongest driver in the field,” he added.