Marko denies rumours and speaks of good conversation with successor Mateschitz
- GPblog.com
A rumour surfaced last week that Helmut Marko would not get on well with Dietrich Mateschitz's replacement: Oliver Mintzlaff. The Red Bull Racing driver single-handedly quelled that rumour with an interview at Kleine Zeitung. The 79-year-old Austrian has since had an initial meeting with Mintzlaff and the outcome is very positive.
Mintzlaff visited Marko three weeks after the final Grand Prix of the season in Abu Dhabi. It was not the first time they had met, but it was the first time the two men started talking to each other about the future and how they want to go about certain things.
Future Red Bull
Mintzlaff has been appointed as one of the three board members following Mateschitz's death. The German has been assigned the 'business projects and investments' portfolio. This includes all sports activities and thus also Red Bull Racing. The future of the Formula 1 team is not in jeopardy and in the coming years we will see Red Bull remain active in the king class of motorsport.
"We have the same basic idea and he has again inquired extensively about the team and is well informed. It is no secret that we are Red Bull's flagship team. Red Bull Racing has been sensational for a long time in terms of numbers, success and marketing. So we quickly agreed that we wanted to continue the team in this successful direction," Marko said.
Horner and Marko remain at the helm
Marko and Christian Horner have long been associated with Red Bull. In fact, the latter is the longest-serving team boss in Formula 1. There will be no changes in the leadership for the time being, as Marko also says he is perfectly in place. "Continuity is definitely a very important ingredient for success, even if AlphaTauri's performance was not satisfactory. We are analysing everything. We will see how we set the course for the future."