Christian Horner reveals Helmut Marko’s decisive role in Red Bull F1 Academy

Helmut Marko has been with Red Bull since 1999.

Christian Horner reveals Helmut Marko’s decisive role in Red Bull F1 Academy

Helmut Marko and Christian Horner (Credits: Daily Express)

Helmut Marko is one of the most important figures for Red Bull racing. The 80-year-old is responsible for bringing in names like Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, and many others to F1. Red Bull principal Christian Horner recently told ESPN Unlapped about Marko’s importance in their junior driver program.

Christian Horner said that Marko’s tough attitude is not every driver’s cup of tea, but if they cannot survive him, they can’t survive in F1. Even Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that he was ‘scared’ of Marko’s phone calls during his time with Red Bull.

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 “He’s a tough operator with the junior drivers but if they can’t survive Helmut, they’ll never survive F1. But he just calls it as he sees it. In many respects it’s very similar to how Niki Lauda was,” Horner told ESPN Unlapped podcast.

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Horner said that Helmut Marko is always scanning for new talent, even at his age. He said that Marko still watches every F2 and F3 session and follows all the young drivers diligently.

“At 80 years of age, he’s still looking for purple sectors. He’s still watching every Formula 3 session, every F2 session, every split time and following the young talent religiously,” Horner added.

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Christian Horner firmly puts Daniel Ricciardo on hold for the Red Bull seat before 2025

Christian Horner and Daniel Ricciardo
Christian Horner (Credits: Byla sports f1) and Daniel Ricciardo (Credits: Fox Sports)

Daniel Ricciardo’s appointment to AlphaTauri mid-way through the season fuelled many speculations of him potentially usurping Sergio Perez’s Red Bull seat after a streak of poor performances from the Mexican. Red Bull Principle Christian Horner has put an end to these debates, making it clear that no change will take place before 2025.

Horner talked about Ricciardo’s desire for the Red Bull seat, saying that he does not plan on being with AlphaTauri for the long term. Horner explained that AlphaTauri is a platform for drivers to prove their worth to Red Bull. Ricciardo has ten more races to do so before being considered for even racing for AlphaTauri next season.

“He [Ricciardo] sees it as the quickest route to getting back into a competitive seat… AlphaTauri drivers have been placed there to develop them as potential Red Bull Racing candidates, and Daniel’s very aware of that, and that’s his objective, but that wouldn’t be before 2025,” said Horner.

History is repeating for Ricciardo as the Australian has already raced for AlphaTauri (Previously Toro Rosso) from 2012 to 2013. He was promoted to Red Bull in 2014 and raced for four years before signing for Renault.

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