Helmut Marko reveals Toto Wolff OVERRULED Niki Lauda’s call to supply Mercedes power units to Red Bull 

Helmut Marko recalled how Toto Wolff prevented a power unit deal between Red Bull and Mercedes despite Niki Lauda's approval back then.

Helmut Marko reveals Toto Wolff OVERRULED Niki Lauda’s call to supply Mercedes power units to Red Bull 

Toto Wolff, Niki Lauda, and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)

Red Bull and Mercedes have a long history of being fierce rivals in Formula 1. Both team bosses Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are extremely competitive and put their racing minds on when their cars are on track. Hence, Helmut Marko recalled an incident from 2014 where Wolff overruled Niki Lauda‘s decision to disadvantage Red Bull.

Red Bull’s 2014 engine supplier Renault was unable to produce competitive engines for the season as recalled by Helmut Marko. Additionally, the 81-year-old pointed out the rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull back then. However, Marko still convinced Dietrich Mateschitz to strike a deal with the German carmaker for a more competitive engine.

In 2014, when the new engine rules came in, our engine supplier, unfortunately, couldn't make a competitive engine, There was quite a big rivalry with Mercedes, and also our boss [Mateschitz] was not a big fan. I said, listen, with our engine, we can't motivate people anymore, because with this engine you can't win.
Helmut Marko said on the Inside Line podcast
YouTube video

As a result, both the parties were convinced of the deal and even Niki Lauda shook his hands for the exchange. However, Toto Wolff was present in the team back then and had to make the final call. The Mercedes boss wasn’t happy with the deal and wanted to decline it. Hence, Wolff’s decision was enforced as the deal didn’t happen in 2014.

FS Video

So we had a deal with Mercedes, a handshake deal with Lauda, which was not supported by Toto, so the deal didn’t happen.

Helmut Marko added
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Helmut Marko revealed Red Bull ‘took a risk’ with Honda after a failed Mercedes PU deal

Red Bull then appointed Honda as the power unit supplier which has worked with them to this day (in various capacities). Helmut Marko recalled that the team approached Honda despite their failure to be competitive with McLaren at the time. However, Marko had some insider information that helped the team make the leap. Regardless of the success in performance now, the 81-year-old assessed the deal to be a risk back then.

We went to Honda. Honda, at that stage, failed to be competitive with McLaren, but I had some inside information on what they were planning to do, so we said, Yes, we go ahead. We take this risk.
Helmut Marko noted
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)
Max Verstappen, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)

The Austrian constructor had enjoyed a dominant streak of wins since the 2021 season. However, the 2024 campaign has put forth some problematic scenarios for Red Bull as they are finding it hard to win. The team is in a desperate performance slump and is trying its best to overcome the problems and manage a comeback in terms of performance.

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