Around 24 hours after Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner was stripped of his powers, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has spoken publicly for the first time
The dismissal of Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner at Red Bull caused quite a stir on Wednesday (July 9) – not least because the racing team itself communicated the personnel decision very briefly without revealing any details. And one name did not appear at all in Red Bull’s statements: that of Helmut Marko.
Almost exactly 24 hours after Horner’s departure from Red Bull, however, the team released a first statement from Marko in which he commented on the latest developments.
Marko said: “Christian and I have worked together very successfully for over 20 years, both in Formula 1 and in Formula 3000. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Christian for that.“
Together, they have achieved an ”incredible number of outstanding successes“ during this time, says Marko, emphasizing: ”We have helped develop two world champions and several Grand Prix winners [with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen]. That has always been – and still is – the Red Bull way.”
Marko emphasizes: Want to stay in the title fight
And further titles remain Red Bull’s declared goal even after the Horner era, as Marko adds. “As far as the current sporting situation is concerned, there are still twelve races to go, and we will continue to fight for the drivers’ championship as long as it is mathematically possible.
Red Bull’s title ambitions had recently suffered a severe setback: At Red Bull’s home race in Austria, Verstappen was taken out in the first lap and had to retire, and at Silverstone he only finished fifth after spinning out. As a result, his points deficit in the overall standings has grown to 69 points. That’s almost three race wins.
In Austria, Marko described the gap to McLaren as “alarming” and the performance of the competition as a ‘demonstration’ in an interview with ORF. Marko hinted that in this situation, “you have to write off the championship” because “it doesn’t look good” for Red Bull against McLaren or even against Ferrari and Mercedes.
