The Inside Scoop on Helmut Marko’s Possible F1 Departure
Apr.24 – 2025 could be Dr Helmut Marko’s last season as the high-profile and powerful advisor at Red Bull.
The 81-year-old has actually hinted at this several times recently – even naming, in Saudi Arabia last weekend, quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel as his ideal successor.
And less than a month ago, he said Max Verstappen’s potential departure from Red Bull at the end of this year “could be a good reason” to step away.
There are also constant rumours that the Austrian’s relationship with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has completely broken down.
Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff freely admitted at Jeddah that Horner and Marko have their “ups and downs”.
“Helmut was the one who hired Christian in 2005,” he told Bild newspaper. “They have a huge connection.
“It’s clear that with all the pressure, emotions, and passion, feelings can sometimes run high,” Mintzlaff added. “But then you have to sit down and discuss it behind closed doors. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Well-known former F1 manager and engineer Joan Villadelprat, however, thinks Marko really is poised to retire.
Citing his insider sources, Villadelprat declared on the Duralavita podcast that Marko will leave Red Bull – and therefore F1 – at the end of the season.
On Servus TV a few weeks ago, Marko admitted that he “can imagine” life beyond Formula 1. “It will be a change,” he said, “but I have a wide range of interests.
“I don’t think about Formula 1 all the time. When I’m there, that’s the focus. But life offers you so much else.”
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Marko has always struck me as an extraordinary opportunist. Lawyer, Hotelier, consultant. Not much for experience in competitive driving.
Then it occurred to me that he isn’t there for Red Bull at all. It is simply a platform where he can remain in public view. He projects himself as though he is speaking for Red Bull.
Yet – he never gives definitive answers. Prevarication, veiled eyes, locked hands. He’s 81, so probably not in the market for a new career. It’s plain he takes an ocean of energy from the environment The corollary of that of course is the small trickle of valid information he provides.
I’ve wanted him gone for a while. Now is a perfect time for him to exit, stage left. How will Verstappen respond to that inevitability.
We shall see. Just imagine him going to Ferrari, and they give Chuck the boot. Max and Lady Gaga driving on the same tea. Anybody else remember Senna and Prost?
Anybody else remember Senna and Prost? Indeed I do , fabulous times
You hit my nostalgia button spot on
How I remember that era with great affection and miss it so much
All the crap going on at the moment is changing the sport, but not in a good way with what appears to be gag orders and instilling fear in the drivers if they show a hint of passion or aggression
The FIA needs an extensive overhaul with fresh faces and new progressive ideas instead of the same old same old
Hope 2026 shakes things up with the new grids and regulations
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