Red Bull chief 'set to leave' F1 team this year

Red Bull F1 chief Helmut Marko is reportedly set to leave the team at the end of the year.

That is according to The Telegraph, who state that Marko, 82, will depart the F1 giants before the next season starts.

It comes in the wake of Christian Horner's departure, as the team's two biggest names now appear to be following one another out of the door.

Marko made no secret of his future being up in the air with comments he made during the final race weekend of the season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Asked if his place at the team is in doubt, he said: “It’s not in doubt, I will have a discussion and then I see what I do. It’s a complex [set] of different things. I have to sleep over it and then we will see.”

Max Verstappen's key relationship

Red Bull's main man, Max Verstappen, has expressed how close a relationship he has with Marko, as rumours of the Austrian's departure will no doubt place further spotlight on Verstappen's long-term future in F1.

The man who Verstappen has previously called a 'second father', has played a crucial role in developing Red Bull's junior talent at the team.

“Helmut has been incredible in how supportive he has been into helping us turning around things this year,” team principal Laurent Mekies said.

“Obviously, him and top management had quite a few difficult decisions to make in the year, and of course, we always know F1 is not a static environment.

“You always adjust your organisations. It applies to technical, it applies to sporting and it’s completely normal that we review how we can improve the way we operate all the time.

"I’m not saying that specifically for Helmut, but I’m saying that in general, we are in an environment where we always challenge each other and look for the next steps, no matter how small it is in trying to work together.

"I can only thank Helmut for the role he has played into making fundamentally better what looked like a difficult situation mid-season.”

GPFans have contacted Red Bull for comment.

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