Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has warned AlphaTauri to improve their “sporting” and “financial” performance as soon as possible, with it currently not meeting the Austrians’ “standards”.
2022 was a very disappointing year for AlphaTauri, with the Faenza-based team having slumped to ninth in the constructors’ championship.
Following their woeful campaign, there was some speculation amongst German media that Red Bull were considering selling their sister team, something Red Bull boss Christian Horner and AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost both quashed.
Whilst Marko has added that AlphTauri are very much going to “remain in-house” at the energy drink company, the Austrian has admitted that the business might be forced to “change” something, should their performances not improve.
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“It’s true that AlphaTauri’s ninth place in the constructors’ championship is not what we expect,” Marko told Formel1.de.
“That means there has to be an improvement. It is also true that the financial commitment at AlphaTauri is too high, this means that we also have to do something on the sponsor side, on the revenue side.
“In the course of this process we also discussed the possibilities, but it was always very clear that AlphaTauri would remain in-house. That is an important part of our junior work.
“As mentioned, neither sporting performance nor financial performance meet Red Bull’s standards, so we have to do something to change that.”
AlphaTauri’s 2023 season certainly didn’t start brilliantly, with Yuki Tsunoda having narrowly missed out on points after finishing eleventh, whilst rookie Nyck de Vries claimed 14th.
The Italians certainly appear to be an issue for Red Bull currently due to their disappointing performances, with the cost of running the team currently outweighing their performances.
Red Bull have considered moving AlphaTauri to the UK so that they can be nearer to the factory side’s Milton Keynes base, with it also being “easier to find employees”, according to Marko.
Nothing is going to happen instantly, though, with Marko having admitted that the reports are “an overinterpretation”.
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“It’s obvious that we’re playing through various options, including England,” he explained.
“AlphaTauri already has over 100 employees in England. It’s a split between Italy and England because it’s much easier to find employees in England.
“But the idea that the entire team will immediately move over there is also an overinterpretation.”