Earlier this year, rumors of a rift between Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and chief advisor Helmut Marko started gathering some traction. While both parties denied the same, it is believed that Horner does not want Marko on the team anymore. To this, former Dutch racing driver Christijan Albers feels that Horner should wait patiently, instead of acting harshly.
Reports of Horner wanting Marko out started emerging in October. Since then, this topic has mellowed out, but Albers staggeringly revealed that Max Verstappen would rather see Horner leave, than Marko.
Because of this, Albers advises Horner to put tight, because of the long contract that Verstappen has with Red Bull. In the De Telegraaf podcast (as quoted by F1 Maximaal), he said:
“He has a mega contract. If I had been Horner I would just sit back, because there will come a time when Marko just has to stop. At some point he just can’t take it anymore.”
The comments Albers made were about Marko’s age. The Austrian, who turned 80 in 2023, will likely not travel to a lot of races in 2024.
Is age catching up to Helmut Marko?
Marko, despite being 80 years old, traveled to every single race in 2023. However, it is unsure as to how long he can keep this up. F1 is demanding, even for the younger members of a team, due to extensive traveling for about 10 months.
Marko, who insisted that he keeps himself fit and healthy, could still have age catching up to him. Albers revealed that at the Las Vegas GP in November, he asked the Graz native, how he manages to travel so much at his age. His reply was, “stay young and fit.”
In 2024, father time will likely prevent the Austrian from traveling to races that are far away from home.
Hence, Albers urges Horner not to do anything rash about Marko. The latter will likely retire, or stop traveling in the next few years, and disturbing the team dynamic, especially with Verstappen preferring him over the team principal, does not seem ideal.
