Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has expressed “great concerns” over Max Verstappen’s future at the powerhouse team as the RB21 struggles to keep pace with rival cars.

The reigning four-time world champion is signed with Red Bull until 2028, but his contract contains a performance clause that would allow him to leave the team – but the exact nature and wording of the clause is not public knowledge.

However, according to Mail Sport, Verstappen would be allowed to leave Red Bull if he slipped lower than third on the drivers’ standings. The Dutchman is currently third on the standings, eight points behind leader Lando Norris of McLaren.

Mercedes and Aston Martin are reportedly the leading candidates for Verstappen should he choose to jump ship.

When asked about Verstappen’s future at Red Bull, Marko told Sky Germany: “The concern is great. Improvements have to come in the near future so that he has a car with which he can win again.

“We have to create a basis with a car so that he can fight for the world championship.”

Verstappen has identified several problems with the Red Bull’s car this season, including unpredictability on corner entry and mid-corner understeer, while the team has struggled to correlate between wind tunnel and on-track performance.

Asked about the team’s performance, Marko continued: “Very alarming. We know that we are not competitive, and there will be parts coming in the coming races, and hopefully they bring improvement.

“We have a lot of problems. The main problem is balance and grip, and out of this, I guess the problems with the brakes came up. Then the normal procedure like a pitstop is not working, so one (problem) comes after the other.

“We have to get, as soon as possible, performance in the car again and also standards like a pitstop have to work. The car is not the fastest and then the pitstops are not working. That is not acceptable.”

Red Bull were all at sea in the Bahrain desert this weekend, with Verstappen unable to replicate his win in Japan, finishing sixth.

Yuki Tsunoda, in only his second run out for the Austrian outfit after replacing Liam Lawson in Suzuka last weekend, picked up his first points for his new team in ninth.

But team principal Christian Horner did not cherry coat the performance.