Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s long-standing motorsport adviser, will leave the team at the end of 2025, bringing an end to a 20-year partnership.
The 82-year-old has been a central figure in Red Bull’s rise since the team entered Formula 1 in 2005, helping them secure six constructors’ titles and eight drivers’ championships. He also played a major role in developing 20 drivers, including Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, with whom he has a particularly close bond.
Red Bull announced that Marko once an F1 driver and Le Mans winner chose to step aside. Marko said that after six decades in motorsport and two hugely successful decades with Red Bull, he felt this was the right moment to close an intense and rewarding chapter. Missing out on this year’s championship, he added, made the decision emotionally clear.
Oliver Mintzlaff, who oversees Red Bull’s F1 operations, said Marko approached him about stepping down after a long discussion. Mintzlaff praised Marko’s enormous contribution, calling him a key architect of Red Bull Racing’s success and a driving force behind its talent-spotting programme.
Verstappen has spoken to Marko and, while emotional, accepts that it is time for him to move on. Earlier in 2024, Verstappen helped ensure Marko remained with the team during a power struggle with then-team principal Christian Horner.
Marko’s influence had diminished following internal changes after Horner’s dismissal in July. A recent conflict involved Marko unilaterally signing young driver Alex Dunne against the wishes of Mintzlaff and new team principal Laurent Mekies. Dunne was later released from the programme and is seeking a new route into F1.
Marko has also faced several controversies during his career, including comments in 2023 attributing Sergio Pérez’s inconsistency to his ethnicity, remarks he later apologised for.
Both Vettel and Verstappen won four consecutive titles with Red Bull under Marko’s leadership, cementing his legacy in the team’s dominant era.
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