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12/09 09:03 CST Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko, who mentored Verstappen, retires
from F1 at the age of 82
Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko, who mentored Verstappen, retires from F1 at the
age of 82
SALZBURG, Austria (AP) --- Red Bull's influential auto racing adviser Helmut
Marko is retiring from his role at the age of 82, ending a 20-year stint in
which he helped Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen develop into four-time
Formula 1 champions.
Marko's departure leaves Red Bull without the two main guiding personalities
from its 2005 entry into F1 after longtime team principal Christian Horner was
ousted in July and replaced by Laurent Mekies.
Marko leaves after Verstappen missed out on winning a fifth title at last
week's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
"Narrowly missing out on the world championship this season has moved me deeply
and made it clear to me that now is the right moment for me personally to end
this very long, intense, and successful chapter," Marko said in a statement.
An F1 driver in the early 1970s before he was blinded in one eye when a rock
pierced his helmet visor, Marko was an influential figure in team politics and
close to his fellow Austrian, Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died
in 2022.
Marko's blunt style and criticism of drivers sometimes led to controversy. In
2023, he apologized to then-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez for comments which
suggested his Mexican heritage was to blame for inconsistent results on the
track.
On behalf of the wider Red Bull corporate group, Marko oversaw its driver
development program for two decades. He guided drivers such as Verstappen and
Vettel through junior series to F1 debuts with Red Bull's second team,
variously known over the years as Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and Racing Bulls.
Former Red Bull junior drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda were both largely
uncompetitive this year alongside Verstappen, and another graduate of the
program, Isack Hadjar, has been promoted to that role for next year.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
