Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has often been labeled by most experts as a nightmare for the public relations team. His nasty comments about Sergio Perez’s poor performances in 2023 hurt Red Bull’s image severely among the public. Since Marko caused most of the troubles for the team in this aspect, Christian Horner as the leader of the side had to take the blame. Sky Sports expert Ted Kravitz revealed on the Sky Sports F1 podcast how Horner’s inability to manage “loose cannon” Marko was the only area in which he lacked as a leader.
“He’s (Horner) juggling Helmut Marko, who is the definition of a loose cannon. I just marked him down because of the Marko comments on Checo [Sergio] Perez“, explained Kravitz.
While the 49-year-old expert believes that Christian Horner could have been better when it came to managing Marko, he believes that the British team principal was flawless in all other aspects. However, fellow expert David Croft believes that Horner’s hands were tied in this situation.
Croft pointed out how Horner does not have the authority to confront Marko since the Austrian is an employee of the Red Bull company and not Red Bull Racing. It’s for this reason that Marko seemingly has a free hand and can manage the drivers as per his liking.
The controversy surrounding Marko’s remarks began after the 80-year-old launched a “South American” jibe against Perez. While speaking in an interview last year, Marko said, “Let’s remember that he (Perez) is South American. And so, his head is not as focused as Max Verstappen or as Sebastian Vettel was“.
Although several experts criticized Perez for his underperformance in 2023, no one ridiculed him because of his nationality. That is where Red Bull received most of the flak because of their inaction against Marko.
Despite Christian Horner and Co.’s consistent support, Sergio Perez had a rough 2023 season
Although Sergio Perez kickstarted the 2023 campaign brilliantly by winning two out of the first four races, it all went downhill for him, beginning at the Miami Grand Prix. Despite starting on pole and his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen starting all the way down in ninth, it was the Dutchman that won the race.
From that point on, Perez also suffered a disastrous run of not making it to Q3 on five consecutive occasions. Moreover, what was worse for him is that he failed to win any more races since his victories in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
In stark contrast, Verstappen won a record 19 out of the 22 races. Such underperformance on Perez’s part put him under immense pressure. There were also several speculations that Red Bull may decide to sack the Mexican if his performances did not improve. Pubically, the Red Bull boss was understanding about the #11 driver’s struggles. But he assured Perez’s 2024 retention not unless he finished P2 in the standings.
Ultimately, Perez did enough to hang onto second in the championship and gave Red Bull their first 1-2 in history. Horner tried his best to defend Perez on most occasions. However, he too admitted that Red Bull cannot afford to have such a performance gap between their two drivers going into 2024.
The 50-year-old revealed that since there is an expectation that Red Bull’s rivals will close the gap to them, the Milton Keynes outfit will need both their drivers to be at the top of their game in 2024. Consequently, Horner made it clear that if Perez’s underperformance continues, then Red Bull may need to take some harsh steps.
Therefore, it seems that there is no guarantee that Perez will even complete the 2024 season. In case he continues to underperform, Red Bull could potentially replace him with the highly experienced Daniel Ricciardo.
