Former Red Bull driver opens up on BRUTAL Helmut Marko

Helmut Marko at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Former Red Bull driver opens up on BRUTAL Marko

Jak Crawford was dropped by Red Bull after a disappointing finish in F2

Originally written by Cal Gaunt. This version is a translation.

Sunday 4 February 2024 01:57

18-year-old Jak Crawford has shed light on the "brutally honest" post-race calls from Helmut Marko after his departure from the energy drink brand.

Despite securing six podium finishes with Hitech Pulse-Eight, Crawford's 13th placed finish in the championship led to the team parting ways with him.

Now, Crawford has described Marko's conversations post-race as blunt and, at times, bordering on "unfair".

Marko is 'very straight to the point'

“I think the hardest things are obviously the pressure and expectation that is set on you,” he told Racer.

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“He puts a lot of faith in his drivers, but he also expects a lot. And sometimes, if you’re not directly in the F2 paddock, knowing what’s going on, it can be difficult to tell with regards to team performance or driver performance and stuff like that.

“So sometimes that can play a factor in how he sees things. But definitely the biggest thing is, the last thing you want is to have a bad weekend and receive a phone call from Helmut to say to come meet him.

“Sometimes he’s brutally honest. That’s the right way to say it. Sometimes it can be too brutally honest, where it can be unfair at times, if you want to say, but it’s not so bad. To me it was very, very short, and very to the point.”