Sam Bird, a driver for McLaren Formula E, has shared his knowledge of Red Bull CEO Helmut Marko.
One of the most important people at Red Bull , Helmut Marko has had a significant impact on the careers of numerous drivers who have represented the team in Formula One over the past 20 years.
Speaking on The Chequered Flag Podcast, he has now revealed one item that has the 80-year-old quite agitated.
Although Helmut Marko had a brief career in Formula 1, he was a talented
endurance racer.
Bird tells Red Bull that he’s heard something that upsets Marko.
His racing career came to an end after ten Grands Prix in the 1970s when he suffered a permanent blindness in his left eye during the 1972 French Grand Prix.
Before launching his own Formula 3 and Formula 3000 team, he turned to managing race drivers, such as Karl Wendlinger and Gerhard Berger.
But he’s most recognized for running Red Bull’s driver development program, which has aided in the ascent of drivers like Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, and Sebastian Vettel.
Having shared his experiences with the Austrian, Daniil Kvyat, he is renowned for being an extremely tough critic.
Although Red Bull was the world champions the previous year, Bird thinks Marko isn’t happy with his current role on the squad.
Though it may not be for much longer, the 80-year-old is still searching for the greatest new talent to bring into Formula 1.
The future of Helmut Marko at Red Bull may be uncertain.
“I mean, I’ve heard that Helmut Marko is contractually with Red Bull, but am I right in saying that that contract is [until] the end of the year?” asked Bird in reference to Marko’s role inside the company.
That does not make him pleased. I have heard that the fact that it ended after a year has greatly saddened him, and that he and Christian [Horner] are now at odds.
“Christian is no longer an ally of his, and he is undoubtedly without an ally in Christian.”
Given that Red Bull has just extended a one-year contract to Marko, as Bird says, he may be facing the same pressure regarding his future as some of the grid drivers.
In 2023, he participated in two significant team decisions.
First of all, he contributed to Daniel Ricciardo taking Nyck de Vries’ place after the Dutchman’s Formula One career ended after ten races.
He subsequently had to inform Liam Lawson that he would not be racing for V-CARB in 2024, despite his outstanding performances filling in for the injured Australian.
Red Bull couldn’t have finished 2023 in a better position, but all of a sudden, there’s some hesitancy within the group.
Next week’s pre-season testing will be interesting to watch to see if they’re still well ahead of the pack.
