Helmut Marko leaves Red Bull after 20 years as F1 team’s academy chief

Helmut Marko has left Red Bull after 20 years as the F1 team’s chief adviser and head of driver development.

The outspoken 82-year-old, known for his forthright views and brutal driver decisions, is close with Red Bull’s four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen.

Yet Marko has announced his retirement, with the decision not expected to impact Verstappen’s short-term future at the team.

In a statement, Marko said: "I have been involved in motorsport for six decades now, and the past 20-plus years at Red Bull have been an extraordinary and extremely successful journey. It has been a wonderful time that I have been able to help shape and share with so many talented people. Everything we have built and achieved together fills me with pride.

“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.

“I wish the entire team continued success and am convinced that they will be fighting for both world championship titles again next year.“

Marko was under fire in recent weeks for comments which inflamed the situation surrounding Kimi Antonelli at the end of the Qatar GP, in which Lando Norris passed him in the closing laps.

Antonelli received death threats online in the 24 hours that followed, though Marko’s future at Red Bull was in doubt even before this incident.

Red Bull’s CEO of Corporate Projects and Investments Oliver Mintzlaff paid a warm tribute to the outgoing Austrian: “Helmut approached me with the wish to end his role as motorsport advisor at the end of the year. I deeply regret his decision, as he has been an influential figure for more than two decades, and his departure marks the end of an extraordinary era.

“Over more than 20 years, Helmut has earned incomparable merits for our team and the entire Red Bull motorsport family. He played a decisive role in all key strategic decisions that made Red Bull Racing what it is today: a multiple world champion, an engine of innovation, and a cornerstone of international motorsport.

“His instinct for exceptional talent not only shaped our junior program but also left a lasting impact on Formula 1 as a whole. Names like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen stand for the many drivers who were discovered, supported, and guided to the very top under his leadership. His passion, his courage to make clear decisions, and his ability to spot potential will remain unforgettable.

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“After a long and intensive conversation, I knew I had to respect his wishes, as I gained the impression that the timing felt right for him to take this step. Even though his departure will leave a significant gap, our respect for his decision and our gratitude for everything he has done for Red Bull Racing outweigh it.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, who replaced Christian Horner in July, implied that changes would be made in the background over the off-season.

“Helmut has been incredible in how supportive he has been in helping us turn things around this year,” Mekies said after Sunday’s race. “Obviously, him and top management had quite a few difficult decisions to make and of course, we always know F1 is not a static environment.

“You always adjust your organisations. It applies to technical [departments], it applies to sporting [departments] and it’s completely normal that we review how we can improve the way we operate all the time.

“I’m not saying that specifically for Helmut, but I’m saying that in general, we are in an environment where we always challenge each other and look for the next steps, no matter how small it is in trying to work together.I can only thank Helmut for the role he has played in making fundamentally better what looked like a difficult situation mid-season.”

It is a significant winter for Red Bull who, alongside Ford, are producing the team’s first in-house engine ahead of the 2026 rule change.

Verstappen has a contract with the team until the end of the 2028 season but his future beyond next year will be determined by the team’s competitiveness on track. Isack Hadjar will join the team as Verstappen’s fourth teammate in just over a year.