Marko responds to rumours: 'I decide when enough is enough!'
- Ludo van Denderen
Suddenly, there was a very outspoken story from Brazil: 'Helmut Marko might lose his position at Red Bull Racing as early as this week,' was the word. Not much later, insider and former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher indicated that the relationship between Marko and Horner was indeed complicated. The key players speculated about had not yet come up. Until now then. Helmut Marko responds to all the stories himself for the first time at OE24.
For example, a journalist from the Austrian medium asks Marko offhand about whether there is a meeting of Red Bull's board of directors about his position this week. Marko responds: "There is no meeting this week. I have a contract until the end of next year. When and how I stop, when it is over, I decide and not, for example, Mr Horner," said Red Bull's external advisor.
Power struggle between Horner and Marko?
Marko also addresses the alleged power struggle between him and Horner. To that, the Austrian says: "Because of the new set-up (after the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz a year ago), everything is different. People are trying to redefine their power," Marko said, calling the possible departure of Yuki Tsunoda and Sergio Perez "speculation". According to Marko, there is no ultimatum for Perez, rather preferring to talk about Max Verstappen's "extraordinary performance."
Max Verstappen would be an outspoken supporter of Marko staying on, Schumacher reported on Monday. Marko is happy with his star driver's stance. "On the one hand, that is very reassuring, there is still such a thing as loyalty and appreciation. Since our first conversation when Max was 15, a special bond has developed between us. Now I am looking forward to Austin, where we can hopefully celebrate his 50th Grand Prix victory on Sunday."