Ralf Schumacher says Max Verstappen will go against Christian Horner to avoid Helmut Marko’s Red Bull exit

According to Schumacher, Verstappen would rather see Horner leave Red Bull instead of Marko.

Ralf Schumacher says Max Verstappen will go against Christian Horner to avoid Helmut Marko’s Red Bull exit

Helmut Marko, Christian Horner, and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, the brother of Michael Schumacher, shared insights on the Helmut Marko Red Bull drama. He thinks Max Verstappen would support Marko and object to his removal more than Christian Horner‘s. This opinion follows rumors of issues between Marko and Horner.

There were speculations that Horner wanted to buy Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri, to sell it for a higher price later, which clashed with the late Dietrich Mateschitz’s wishes not to sell AlphaTauri. This likely strained the relationship between the Austrian driver and the Brit.

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In an interview with Sky Germany, Ralf Schumacher said, “Helmut chose Horner to lead Red Bull long before entering Formula 1 and one has always been on the other’s side. The story is that Verstappen is not going to tolerate Marko’s departure and would even prefer that it be Horner who leaves the team.” Marko has been with the team since the start of Red Bull Racing, and Max Verstappen sees him as an early figure in the team and would like to keep him around.

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Regarding the sale of AlphaTauri, the German added, “When Horner said that if he has to support Red Bull more, he should have more influence, I got the feeling that he wanted to buy AlphaTauri. He planned to make it as successful as possible to sell it in the future for a good price.” However, Red Bull’s board is considering Marko’s continuity with itself.

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Helmut Marko reacts to rumors about Christian Horner wanting him gone from Red Bull

The current advisor to the Red Bull GmbH F1 teams, Helmut Marko believes there’s no conflict between him and the Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. However, as a news outlet, Globo reported Horner wanted to take more power at the organization, more than Marko himself. Marko believes he has a long term with Red Bull and he’ll stay with the team as much as he’d like.

Red Bull's Helmut Marko
Red Bull’s Helmut Marko (via PlanetF1/Twitter)

The Austrian said everyone in the team wanted to take more authority since the passing of Mateschitz. He further added, “There is no summit, I have a contract until the end of the year next. When and how I stop, when it is over, I decide, and not, for example, Mr Horner.” 

Marko said everyone should stop believing in these types of rumors and notice the extraordinary performances Verstappen is making. He believes Verstappen is the future of the team, and not him or Horner.

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