F1: Red Bull's Helmut Marko Suggests He May Retire If Max Verstappen Departs
While Helmut Marko has overseen one of Red Bull’s most successful eras, his position in the team has come under scrutiny lately.
Red Bull‘s senior advisor Helmut Marko claims his future in Formula One is linked with multi-time World Champion Max Verstappen. In the last five years, the 81-year-old has transformed Red Bull into a championship-winning machine. Under his guidance, the Milton Keynes-based squad unearthed talents like Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, who won four world titles each. Marko recently dropped an interesting comment on his potential retirement from the sport. In an interview with Motorsport.com, the senior advisor was asked if he could leave Formula 1 if Verstappen exited Red Bull. “That could be a good reason, yes," Marko replied.
While Helmut Marko has overseen one of Red Bull’s most successful eras, his position in the team has come under scrutiny lately. Last year, he feared getting fired after team principal Christian Horner’s inappropriate behaviour investigation reportedly caused internal friction. During that phase, Max Verstappen stood up for Marko and, reportedly, threatened to leave if Marko was fired from Red Bull.
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In the same interview, Helmut Marko was asked if Max Verstappen could leave by the summer break if chances of a fifth championship started diminishing. The senior advisor claimed they were still in a good position for the title and there’s still a lot of time before the summer break. “That’s the window. But let’s not forget — we’re second in the championship, eight points behind. There’s still a long way to go until the summer break," he said.
Helmut Marko was also questioned about Red Bull’s dependency on Max Verstappen to deliver championship points. When asked if he feared the team would sink into mediocrity without Verstappen, he replied, “Of course, Max is an extremely important part of our team. He was the only one who could win the title last year." While Marko acknowledged that the whole of Red Bull looked up to the Dutch-Belgian racer, he believed there was still no reason for him to leave the team. “Right now, he’s the best — if not among the very best — and of course we want to keep him. But for that, the car has to be up to standard. And the way things look now, there’s no reason — not contractually either — for him to leave at the end of the year," he said.
Amid Red Bull’s ongoing struggles, Max Verstappen has been on the radars of several teams performing on the grid this season. Aston Martin had allegedly made a huge offer to lure Verstappen but no agreement was reached. Mercedes are also actively involved in the pursuit to sign the Dutchman for the 2026 F1 season.
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