Helmut Marko slams Red Bull F1 'nonsense' after exit

Helmut Marko slams Red Bull 'nonsense' after exit

Helmut Marko left Red Bull at the end of 2025

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Sunday 11 January 2026 15:02

Former Red Bull F1 advisor Helmut Marko has slammed what he calls 'nonsense' from his old team following his exit.

Marko left his role as motorsport advisor after 20 years in the job back in December, and Red Bull have not replaced him as of yet.

The Austrian's role saw him overseeing the progress of young drivers, including Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.

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However, following Verstappen's inability to claim a record-equalling fifth consecutive title in 2025, Marko opted to leave his role and retire, with the Austrian not far off his 83rd birthday.

Marko has now suggested that his decision to leave had nothing to do with Verstappen failing to win the drivers' championship in 2025, dismissing a Red Bull press release saying that was the case as 'nonsense'.

"No, I'll say no more. And that fifth title wouldn't have changed anything, you know. It was my ultimate dream to make it five in a row with Verstappen, the best driver we've ever had. But it wasn't meant to be, even though I had high hopes for the final race."

Marko's damning Red Bull quotes

Marko has been increasingly critical about Red Bull since leaving the team, and has threatened to destabilise what had seemed to have become a more settled outfit since Laurent Mekies became team principal in 2025.

Mekies' promotion came as a result of the sacking of Christian Horner last July, who had held the position for the last 20 years.

After confirming his retirement from Red Bull after the 2025 season, Marko issued an interview with De Telegraaf about the ins and outs of his relationship with Horner in the final few years of the Brit's tenure.

He claimed that the Brit changed following the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022, and that he tried to 'take over' the outfit.

"Together with Didi [Mateschitz], I founded Red Bull Racing in 2005," Marko said. "We appointed Horner as team principal, and I was there as an overseer.

"The power was always essentially in Austria; we were the ones calling the shots. I remember a party in 2022 before the Austrian Grand Prix. Didi was there, but not in good health. Christian came to me and said, 'He won't make it to the end of the year.'

"From that moment on, he started getting friendly with Chalerm Yoovidhya. When Didi passed away later that year, he did everything he could to take over with Yoovidhya's support. I did everything I could on behalf of 'Austria' to prevent that.

"We were increasingly able to prove that Horner was lying about everything under the sun," Marko continued. "Once Chalerm [Yoovidhya, co-owner of Red Bull GmbH] realised this, he came to his senses.

"But those last years with Horner weren't pleasant. Dirty tricks were played. Do you remember me saying, back in the Sergio Perez era, that Mexicans are less focused than the Dutch or Germans? That was fabricated, perhaps even by them.

"Just like I supposedly said in 2024 that our engine development was behind schedule and that we would therefore lose Ford as our sponsor. I never said that, but Horner wanted to use that to get me suspended. Because Max stepped up to the plate in Jeddah, it didn't happen."

F1 Red Bull Helmut Marko