Helmut Marko addresses rumours he was 'pressured' to leave Red Bull

Red Bull F1 legend Helmut Marko has addressed rumours that his recent exit from the team was caused by pressure from above.

Marko recently announced that he will be retiring from his role as advisor, despite having a contract that was supposed to run until the end of the 2026 season.

The Austrian has been working with Red Bull since their inception in the sport back in 2005, scouting a host of young stars including Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen to Red Bull's young driver programme.

He has helped the F1 team secure six constructors' championships and eight drivers' championships in that time, but the 82-year-old has now opted to step away from the role.

It has prompted rumours that he was kindly persuaded to vacate his role by Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, with the team heading into a new era from 2026 onwards, with a new team principal in Laurent Mekies and a new project to supply themselves with power units in partnership with Ford.

Now, Marko has revealed how the conversation progressed with Mintzlaff, suggesting that there was no pressure from the Red Bull CEO.

"No, I was by no means pressured to leave," the 82-year-old said in an interview with Austrian TV channel RTL.

"After some discussion, he [Mintzlaff] accepted it. [He tried to] persuade me, but saw that I was consistent. And we parted amicably."

Who will replace Marko?

Marko's role is arguably still just as important now as ever, despite the fact that Red Bull have the best driver of this current crop of drivers in Verstappen in one of their seats.

Verstappen's long-term future with Red Bull remains uncertain, and his new team-mate Isack Hadjar is still an unknown entity when it comes to racing with the main team.

18-year-old Arvid Lindblad will race for the sister Racing Bulls team in 2026, but he may well be needed in the main team sooner rather than later if his talents are as strong as hoped.

It means that Racing Bulls could well be running out of young Red Bull drivers in the years to come, meaning that scouting the next generation will be crucial.

Vettel has been tipped to replace Marko, with Marko himself even suggesting that the German four-time world champion would be great at the role given his off-track work in recent seasons trying to promote the careers of young female racing stars.

However, German publication Bild reported earlier this week that Red Bull aren't necessarily looking to replace Marko, potentially opting to leave his position vacant.

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