Red Bull are a ruthless yet closely-knit team. The main trio of the team involving Max Verstappen, Christian Horner, and Helmut Marko always have had a tight bond. However, former F1 driver Christijan Albers has cited that there may be some kind of power struggle between Horner and Marko.
According to F1 Maximaal, Albers spoke about this potential tussle at Milton Keynes to RTL GP Magazine. He stated, “The moment that the dramatic thing happened, that Mateschitz died, was also the first moment that I said that we will have that ego battle. Horner has that focus on ruling alone, and we also notice that he is working on gaining that position.”
The former Spyker F1 driver also hinted at how the Daniel Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries saga has fueled this potential power struggle. He added, “I have the feeling that Horner is trying to get Ricciardo next to Max.”
While Ricciardo has been hyped as a potential replacement for the struggling Sergio Perez, Horner has backed the Mexican driver throughout. However, about de Vries, the Red Bull boss had different thoughts that Helmut Marko himself revealed on a podcast.
This could be a potential matter that is reportedly causing tensions between the two Red Bull bosses. Even though such rumors have existed for a while now, both Marko and Horner have denied them. Even Verstappen stated that things are smooth at the Austrian team.
How did the rumors around the Christian Horner-Helmut Marko tussle come by?
Last year during the US GP, Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz passed away. Since then, there have been some changes in the parent company’s structure of sporting ventures. While Red Bull Racing is a separate entity, there were rumors that Helmut Marko could go away from the team, as a part of this restructure.
These rumors got stronger when the Austrian advisor made some questionable comments about Sergio Perez. At this time, this narrative of a power struggle grew. There were speculations made that Christian Horner wants Marko out of the team.
However, the British boss rubbished these speculations. He said, “Nothing has changed. Helmut obviously, he’s lost his friend and colleague, Dietrich, but he’s just as active as he’s always been. And I value his input.”
Marko also explained how he has known Horner for 27 years and have everything sorted. However, he had some interesting remarks about his exit rumors as he said, “I have a contract until the end of next year. When and how I stop, when it’s over, I decide and not, for example, Mr. Horner.”
