Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has been at Red Bull ever since the team debuted in F1 all the way back in 2005. He along with team principal Christian Horner have formed one of the most iconic partnerships in the sport. However, their partnership is now on the brink of collapse. According to Globo, Horner is keen to sack Marko because of their argument over a $10,000,000 paycheck they receive from Honda.
Horner has been acquainted with Marko for almost 28 years now. The duo first came into each other’s circles during Horner’s days peddling in Formula 3000. Lo and behold, all those years after, they teamed up to create potentially one of the most menacing dynasties this sport has ever seen, with Red Bull.
Oh my days Helmut Marko might actually lose his job…
There haas been growing tension between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, with Horner wanting to get rid of Marko for some time, and not only him, he even wants to get rid of YUKI TSUNODA 🤯 pic.twitter.com/pDKlUWr2C8
— Formula God (@formula1god) October 15, 2023
Despite their storied history together, reports state that Horner has had a change of heart. As things stand, the inner politics of the team have forced the Briton’s hand. After 28 years together, Horner is eager to give Marko the boot.
Perez was the last nail in the coffin for Horner and Marko’s relationship
Things don’t look too good within the Red Bull garage. According to Brazilian outlet Globo (as quoted by metro.co.uk), Christian Horner is keen on sacking Helmut Marko at all costs. This is partly due to Marko’s ever-growing presence within the team and how wanton the Briton feels the Austrian has gotten.
It all came to a head when Marko made some rather distasteful comments about Perez and his nationality. The 80-year-old launched a “South American” jibe at the Mexican, a remark that received immense backlash from most of the F1 community.
Lewis Hamilton has given his thoughts on Helmut Marko’s recent comments about Sergio Perez 🗣 pic.twitter.com/Coc21U92kl
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) September 14, 2023
To add fuel to the fire, Marko had initially refused to apologize. This led to Horner declaring, “His [Marko’s] contract is with Red Bull GmbH. He’s not an employee, he’s not on the payroll of Red Bull Racing.”
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have a different stance on Yuki Tsunoda
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko are at odds with one another over Yuki Tsunoda. The 49-year-old is eager to get rid of the young Japanese driver in the power-play that has ensued between him and Marko. On the other hand, the Austrian Marko reportedly won’t have any of it. He wants Tsunoda to stay put at AlphaTauri.
But this inner tussle can have huge ramifications for their F1 operations. This is because Tsunoda is in F1 under the auspices of Honda who bring in a whopping $10,000,000 into the team as funds. Hence, if the 23-year-old gets entangled in this mess, Red Bull might be the biggest losers.
