Helmut Marko has once again criticized Christian Horner – Why Ralf Schumacher can understand the accusations, but finds them “a bit of a shame.”
Following his surprising departure from Red Bull, Helmut Marko launched another broadside against former team boss Christian Horner a few days ago. Among other things, the 82-year-old Austrian accuses the Briton of having “played dirty games” in the past.
These are strong words, but they come as no surprise to Formula 1 expert Ralf Schumacher. “No, not at all,” said the 50-year-old in an interview with Sky, emphasizing that he had already “mentioned often enough” the internal power struggles this year. “And it was also clear that there were two camps.”
Although the German believes that Red Bull is “not entirely happy” with Marko’s current statements, “you have to agree with Helmut Marko,” says Schumacher, who himself is once again clear: “The team was a disaster. It fell apart.”
Horner’s behavior “cost good people”
“It lost an incredible number of personnel and an incredible number of employees,” recalls the Sky expert. “Just because of Christian Horner, because he behaved in a way that, according to internal sources, meant that he was the only one who achieved anything here. He didn’t need anyone else.”
“That cost us good people,” Schumacher knows. “And above all, the big problem was that no one wanted to come anymore.” After that, it took a long time for Red Bull to part ways with its long-time team boss “in agreement with the Thai side.”
Although Marko is absolutely right in his latest statements, “I personally would have preferred him to have done it at the time when he was still there, in office and in a position of authority,” says the 50-year-old. The kick against Red Bull is “a bit of a shame” and “actually not very nice.”
And that’s not the only point Schumacher criticizes: “As much as I like Helmut, I have to remind him that he had the chance to fire Horner while Dietrich Mateschitz was still alive.” At that time, however, the two were still very close and had “joined forces for a certain cause.”
Christian Horner has “very few friends”
“They actually had plans to do a big business deal together,” reveals the former Formula 1 driver with a smile: “I don’t want to say what it was, that wouldn’t be entirely fair, but Helmut Marko knows exactly what I mean. And back then, Dietrich Mateschitz already wanted to get rid of Horner because he didn’t consider him loyal.“
”That’s why I have to say that he’s right,“ adds Schumacher, ”but [it’s] a bit of dirty laundry that he could have prevented himself.” However, this does not change the general opinion of Christian Horner.
“When you walk through the paddock, you have to be honest, and this isn’t just my opinion, he has very few friends because of the way he is,” says Schumacher. “I can only recommend that he stick to gardening because he has already left a lasting impression on Formula 1.”
