Red Bull chief 'not satisfied' with sister F1 team's form

Helmut Marko and Yuki Tsunoda on the grid — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull chief 'not satisfied' with sister F1 team's form

Red Bull's chief of driver development Helmut Marko opens up on AlphaTauri's struggles

Jay Winter

Friday 23 June 2023 16:57

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has shed light on the current state of affairs at AlphaTauri, expressing his dissatisfaction with the team's performances while acknowledging the progress made by their young driver, Yuki Tsunoda.

Marko emphasised that although AlphaTauri's results may have been poor, their primary objective remains the development of young talents, a strategy that has yielded positive results in the past.

"We are not satisfied with AlphaTauri's current performances, and they are not satisfied either," he revealed to F1Insider

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"But their main task is still to educate our young talents so that they can take the next step. It has worked well in the past."

Promising Tsunoda

While Tsunoda currently occupies the 17th position in the drivers' standings, his performances have left a lasting impression.

"The current example of Yuki Tsunoda shows that it is still working despite the meagre points tally," said Marko.

"We hope that AlphaTauri can improve further this year. And for the future, the plan is to expand the collaboration with Red Bull Racing within the limits of the regulations to efficiently utilise more resources. Part of the team is set to move to England."

Tsunoda has outperformed his new team-mate Nyck De Vries, leading him in the drivers' championship by two points

Who is up next?

Drawing attention to the potential future stars of F1, former co-owner of Toro Rosso which is now AlphaTauri, Gerhard Berger, highlighted a standout candidate from Red Bull's junior program.

"I have high regard for the young New Zealander Liam Lawson," said the former Ferrari star.

"He is currently doing a fantastic job in the highly respected Super Formula in Japan. He caught my attention for the first time two years ago in the DTM, sponsored by Red Bull, driving a Ferrari.

"He was faster than his team-mate at the time, Alex Albon. And we can see what Albon is capable of now in his appearances with Williams in Formula 1.

Berger firmly believes that Lawson is the next talent from Red Bull's pool destined for an F1 and emphasised the importance of the junior team in nurturing such talents.

"He is the next one from the Red Bull pool that we will see in Formula 1. But without the junior team, that would be difficult to achieve."

With F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali saying that F1 does not need new teams added to the grid, the price of buying a slot on the grid has shot up thanks to the sport's soaring popularity.

With Alphatauri's recent tendency of trailling towards the back of the pack, could Red Bull be inclined to sell AlphaTauri to make way for a new competitive constructor?