JANUARY 11, 2024

Marko to stay put until the end of 2026

Helmut Marko will remain with Red Bull until the end of 2026, after signing a new two-years deal with the company’s new managament. The veteran Austrian’s current contract, still signed with his old friend Dietrich Mateschitz, expires at the end of this year and with the billionaire gone there were indications Marko wouldn’t have his deal renewed by Oliver Mintzlaff, the man who’s now in charge of running the company’s sporting programs.

There were also strong indications Team Principal Christian Horner would be quite happy to see Marko go, to finally be completely in charge of the company’s two Formula 1 teams and the young drivers’ program, but this internal battle seems to have been tipped in the veteran’s favor thanks to the very strong support he has from Max Verstappen.

The three-times World Champion gets on famously well with Marko and has made it clear he wants to have the former Le Mans winner by his side for as long as possible, as they seem to share a common view on how to go racing and how to communicate inside the team. Verstappen has often explained he appreciates, “the no bullshit approach from Helmut, because I’m the same way”, addding that, “with him you always know where you stand, because it tells it like he sees it and I’m like that as well.”

Of course there were strong denials by both Horner and Marko regarding the internal struggle for power, the Team Principal insisting that, “we have known each other for 27 years, and our relationship it's as open and clear as ever, nothing has changed."

The outcome of this rift means that Marko will continue to attend all the Grand Prix for the next three seasons, and while is main focus remains being alongside Verstappen when the Dutch is at the tracks, he’ll now likely devote a bit more time to Racing Bulls, the company’s junior team, as with the departure of Franz Tost the former driver will want to keep a close eye on the way Peter Bayer and Laurent Mekies will now run the Faenza-based team in their first year in control of the Italian structure.