Would Christian Horner and Helmut Marko’s tussle make Red Bull go off the rails?

Red Bull has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons in recent times.

Would Christian Horner and Helmut Marko’s tussle make Red Bull go off the rails?

Christian Horner and Helmut Marko (Credits: racingnews365)

The Red Bull F1 team has been the top dog at the pinnacle of motor racing since the dawn of the new regulations as they have secured two back-to-back Champions in the last two years. While they secured the 2023 titles quite recently, everything is not merry within the Red Bull camp. Since the Qatar GP weekend, rumors have been making the rounds in the F1 town about a possible friction between Helmut Marko and Christian Horner.

They are the two pillars around which Red Bull has revolved for decades. But, as per the recent rumors, it has come to light that Christian Horner is looking to get full control over the Austrian team’s F1 operation. Horner wants Marko out of the team and considering everything, total-motorsports journalist Brandon Sutton has indicated that something shady is brewing within the Red Bull camp.

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He has made it known that since the death of founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, Christian Horner has been pushing to secure full control over the Red Bull F1 team. While he is the Team Principal, Helmut Marko also holds a lot of pull on the team in his role as the Red Bull team adviser. The two hold contrasting opinions on certain matters, which is believed to be the potential cause of friction between the two.

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For starters, Horner did not want Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri for 2024 but Marko was not willing to irritate Honda by replacing Tusonda for next year. Then there is the Nyck De Vries situation, in which Horner was against the Dutchman’s 2023 AlphaTauri appointment. Most recently, the two Red Bull figures have been at each other’s throats over the Sergio Perez situation.

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Christian Horner’s indirect dig at Helmut Marko for his xenophobic comments toward Sergio Perez

While Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have been in the eyes of the public for all the wrong reasons in recent times, the former was previously asked to share his opinion on Marko’s xenophobic comments toward Sergio Perez. He said back then, “Well firstly, those comments, they weren’t right. I think Helmut quickly recognized that and apologized for that both publicly and spoke directly to Sergio about it.”

Christian Horner (Credits: F1)
Christian Horner (Credits: F1)

“I think you’re always learning in life, even at 80 years of age, and I think inevitably lessons have been learned. From Helmut’s perspective, he’s apologized. He’s not an employee of Red Bull Racing.” Looking at the comments of the Brit, it is quite clear that he did not shy away from taking an indirect dig toward Marko for his reckless comments.

Considering everything that has been discussed above, the ongoing power tussle at Red Bull is going to be a fascinating watch. There are still five races remaining in the 2023 F1 season and there is every chance that the fans of the sport are in for some off-track fireworks at Red Bull. The Horner-Marko situation has all the ingredients that could lead the situation to escalate quickly.

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