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Helmut Marko bows out from Red Bull and F1 at 83
AP • December 10th, 2025 8:46 am
Red Bull's Helmut Marko with Max Verstappen | Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull's influential motorsport advisor Helmut Marko is retiring from his role at the age of 82, ending a 20-year stint in which he helped Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen develop into four-time Formula 1 champions.
Marko was a key figure who prepared Verstappen to become the youngest driver in F1 history when he made his debut aged just 17 in 2015, and the pair have been close ever since.
"Thank you, Helmut," Verstappen wrote on Instagram. "We've achieved everything we ever dreamed of together. I'm forever grateful for your belief in me."
Helmut Marko in the garage with Max Verstappen | Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Marko was the last man standing of a top trio that ran the team during a dominant period in its history.
Team boss Christian Horner was ousted in July and design supremo Adrian Newey departed last year, moving to Aston Martin.
Marko leaves after Verstappen missed out on winning a fifth title at last week's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
"Narrowly missing out on the world championship this season has moved me deeply and made it clear to me that now is the right moment for me personally to end this very long, intense, and successful chapter," Marko said in a statement.
Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
An F1 driver in the early 1970s before he was blinded in one eye when a rock pierced his helmet visor, Marko was an influential figure in team politics and close to his fellow Austrian, Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in 2022.
Marko's blunt style and criticism of drivers sometimes led to controversy. In 2023, he apologised to then-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez for comments which suggested his Mexican heritage was to blame for inconsistent results on the track.
More recently Marko accused Mercedes' rookie Kimi Antonelli of moving aside for Norris in Qatar this month in the battle for fourth place. Antonelli received abuse and death threats on social media prompting a retraction from Red Bull and Marko.
Sebastian Vettel with Helmut Marko | Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
On behalf of the wider Red Bull corporate group, Marko oversaw its driver development program for two decades. He guided drivers such as Verstappen and Vettel through junior series to F1 debuts with Red Bull's second team, variously known over the years as Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and Racing Bulls.
However, more recent recruits Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have struggled to make an impact,
"It is very sad news that Helmut is leaving us," Horner's successor Laurent Mekies said in a statement on X.
"He has been such an integral part of our team and of Red Bull's entire motor racing programme for more than two decades."
