Max Verstappen to get his wish at Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after latest F1 retirement

Max Verstappen has been calling for upgrades to his Red Bull car after a disastrous start to the season and Helmut Marko believes the Dutchman will get his wish next week. Red Bull endured another frustrating weekend in Australia with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc enjoying a comfortable ride to the chequered flag with Verstappen unable to finish the race.

With Mercedes still battling to find a package capable of challenging at the front, the front row has been dominated by Red Bull and Ferrari. In particular, Verstappen and Leclerc have already enjoyed some spectacular on-track battles.

It proved to be a fascinating fight in Saudi Arabia with Verstappen able to come out on top in the final few laps. But the other two races have ended in bitter disappointment for Verstappen as mechanical issues led to him retiring early.

Speaking after the Australian Grand Prix, Verstappen labelled Red Bull's failures as "unacceptable".

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"We are already miles behind so I don't even want to think about the championship fight at the moment," Verstappen said. "These sort of things, if you want to fight for the title, cannot happen."

But significant upgrades could be in the offing in the very near future heading into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix next week. Red Bull advisor Marko is hopeful the team will be able to decrease the weight of the RB18 to help compete with Ferrari.

"Our car is way too heavy," Marko told De Telegraaf. "The RB18 finished late, as we were in the title race right through to the end last year.

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"Updates are coming for the upcoming race at Imola and the Grand Prix after. Hopefully we can get closer to Ferrari then."

Verstappen's retirements