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Apr.24 (GMM) 2025 could be Dr Helmut Marko’s last season as the high-profile and powerful advisor at Red Bull.
The 81-year-old has actually hinted at this several times recently – even naming, in Saudi Arabia last weekend, quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel as his ideal successor.
And less than a month ago, he said Max Verstappen’s potential departure from Red Bull at the end of this year “could be a good reason” to step away.
There are also constant rumours that the Austrian’s relationship with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has completely broken down.
Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff freely admitted at Jeddah that Horner and Marko have their “ups and downs”.
“Helmut was the one who hired Christian in 2005,” he told Bild newspaper. “They have a huge connection.
“It’s clear that with all the pressure, emotions, and passion, feelings can sometimes run high,” Mintzlaff added. “But then you have to sit down and discuss it behind closed doors. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Well-known former F1 manager and engineer Joan Villadelprat, however, thinks Marko really is poised to retire.
Citing his insider sources, Villadelprat declared on the Duralavita podcast that Marko will leave Red Bull – and therefore F1 – at the end of the season.
On Servus TV a few weeks ago, Marko admitted that he “can imagine” life beyond Formula 1. “It will be a change,” he said, “but I have a wide range of interests.
“I don’t think about Formula 1 all the time. When I’m there, that’s the focus. But life offers you so much else.”
