Sky Sports F1 reporter Ted Kravitz has insisted that there’s “no evidence” that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is trying to oust advisor Dr Helmut Marko, something which was rumoured ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
It was rumoured that Horner was trying to remove the 80-year-old from Red Bull’s F1 operations to gain more power over the team himself, with the energy drink company continuing to adjust to life without the late co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
Horner and Marko have been alongside each other at Red Bull since the team entered F1 in 2005 and Kravitz has seen no signs of the duo having any issues between them.
Both Horner and Marko were asked about the rumours ahead of the US GP, which was won by Max Verstappen.
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Marko was adamant that only he would decide when his time with Red Bull would end, something which won’t happen for a while as he’s contracted until the end of 2024.
The Austrian clarified that it’d be his choice in regard to when it’s time for him to leave the Milton Keynes-based team, not Horner’s.
Horner likewise insisted that there were no issues at all between himself and the advisor and saw no reason to change the outfit’s setup.
It appears that there may well be very little truth behind the rumour, as Kravitz has heard nothing about a potential breakup “in the waters”.
The veteran reporter revealed that Horner and Marko continue to “have lunch every day together” and that they remain “tight buddies”, perhaps putting an end to the speculation.
“Do you want to know about a story that you might have read about Helmut Marko and a supposed row with Christian Horner?” Kravitz asked the Sky Sports F1 audience.
“Now, we never knew. We didn’t know. I haven’t heard this in the waters, in the paddock jungle drums, in the paddock rumour mill.
“We’ve seen no evidence of any row between Horner and Marko.
“They are tight buddies! They still have lunch every day together.
“When Marko was interviewed by an Austrian newspaper he was asked about a rumoured rift with Horner, which I didn’t know was a thing!
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“He said: ‘I have a contract with Red Bull until the end of next year. When, and how, I stop? I decide. Not, for example, Mr. Horner’.
“How is he exposing a massive rift, which looks like it isn’t a rift, with Horner? It’s all rather baffling.
“I don’t get it. Because they look like bezzie mates!”