Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has addressed several rumours regarding both his future with the team and that of AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost, with the sister team continuing to underperform.
It’s been a very mixed start to the 2023 F1 season for Red Bull as a brand, with the main side being unbeaten so far this year and comfortably at the top of both championships.
On the other hand, AlphaTauri have once again struggled in the opening few rounds; however, Yuki Tsunoda did claim the Faenza-based team’s first point of the season in Melbourne.
As a result of AlphaTauri’s poor start to the year, it’s been suggested that Tost could be sacked, whilst Marko’s future has also been questioned.
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It’s been rumoured that Marko and new Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff do not see eye to eye.
Based on that it’s been reported that Marko could quit his advisory role at Red Bull, something he somewhat addressed.
“I can only say that I will be with Red Bull in Salzburg on Wednesday,” Marko told the Swiss newspaper Blick. “And those topics are not on the agenda there.”
The rumour suggesting that Marko or Tost could leave the Red Bull family interestingly has another layer to it, with ex-Red Bull driver and four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel being a contender to replace either of them.
Marko does continue to talk to Vettel, but the German isn’t believed to be ready yet “travel to every race”.
“We are still in contact,” Marko said when asked about Vettel.
“Seb is currently still in the self-discovery phase but I don’t think he wants to travel to every race again and work harder for significantly less money.”
As far as Marko is concerned, he’s not going anywhere yet despite being 79 years old, with him seeing no reason why he’d want to quit, especially whilst he’s working “with the best driver” in F1 currently.
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“As a multiple hotel owner, my advantage is my independence,” Marko insisted.
“But if, as is the case at the moment, I can be with the best driver in (Max) Verstappen, resigning is not an issue.
“With a different pilot pairing, my situation would definitely be different too.”