It is a question that was on many lips before Red Bull decided to exchange Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda after two races in the new Formula 1 season.
After the opening round in Australia, Helmut Marko’s opinion has already taken him tightly on the crossings of many fans.
Marko sang tears of ISACK HADJAR. After a rookie crashed from Melbourne’s formation lab- “I’m a bit embarrassed,” unlike the extensive support received by the Racing Bulls driver. Stefano Domenicali and Anthony Hamilton comforted Hadjar at the time and soon followed a fellow driver’s support message.
Marko’s remarks to many outside people suggested that he lost contact with how he managed the coming talent, but it should be noted that Hadjar himself defended Red Bull Advisor in China a week later.
Nevertheless, it is not a quiet start for the driver management of Red Bull. Marko recently said that Lawson has fallen and Tsunoda has soon promoted this year, and some of the logic is related to increasing the title opportunity of MAX VERSTAPPEN.
The 81 -year -old boy is definitely close to the VestAppen Camp and his influence.
Marko was a close friend and confidence in former Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz and regularly asked for advice on the driver before Mateschitz died in 2022. As an employee of RED BULL RACING, Marko’s responsibility as a staff of Red Bull Racing was an advisor to the racing team and was associated with the correlation with MATECH, but was associated with Matschitz.
MATESCHITZ has always talked about the driver lineup, and most of the options for Red Bull will come from a famous young driver program that Marko has autonomy.
But following Mateschitz’s death, the power struggle continued, and Marko saw his influence in the company.
Red Bull GmbH ownership has two aspects: Thai entrepreneur Charlerm Yoovidhya and Mateschitz’s son Mark. Young Mateschitz respects the role of Marko because of his historical relationship with his father, his importance of VERSTAPPEN’s position, and his advice on the team that succeeded in that era so far. But Mateschitz is autonomous and Yoovidhya usually supports the leadership of Christian Horner.
Team Principal Christian Horner and Team Advisor Helmut Marko stand on the other side of the leadership division made in Red Bull, the death of the founder Dietrich MateSchitz. But the close relationship with Marko and Max VestAppen means that even if his broader influence is reduced, it is indispensable. Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Horner was the skilled engineer Guillaume Rocquelin in 2022 as a new position to work with the junior drivers of the program. It was a domain of Marko and still remains today. Marko has a complete power source of the driver as part of the program.
Austria can also decide which team drivers are deployed and control the categories that are competing, but Rocquelin has begun to introduce another side to the program, including Jerez’s education and benchmarking program, which began to erode Marko’s entire ownership.
Once the decision is made for F1 seats, the last word is still from shareholders, whether it is a race bull in the junior program or handed over Red Bull Racing Drive to someone. Horner and Marko are in a position where you can present opinions.
In the case of Lawson and Tsunoda Swap, sources argue that Marco is unanimous, even if it means that it means that New Zealand should give more time to a demanding car.
The surprising reason is that Marko has been consistent with VERSTAPPEN in recent years, so it has helped negotiate contract expansion with Austrian parent companies. The VestAppen-Marko relationship was especially tight in 2024, especially in the Netherlands’ struggle, emphasizing the importance of Marko’s existence.
VestAppen said, “I always know that he should stay, so I can’t continue without it.” Helmut is very important with the team for the future of the team and the team.
VERSTAPPEN’s contract has a provision that Marko can be removed from his point of view, and afterwards, each future is closely intertwined. Marko suggested that Red Bull should leave Red Bull, and the performance provisions were able to do so four times the world champions before the end of the 2028 contract.
But if Marko doesn’t have jurisdiction, how do you think about some headlines related to the current driver or team?
The former F1 racer has never been personally or openly withdrawn. It always enables him to show his view, even if he has always approached his torture role, even if there is no formal word about a particular problem.
The distance with the actual team itself also means that it does not need to be diplomatic because it does not stop with him. Some of the close knowledge of working with Marko also suggest that some of his opinions help him keep him relevant.
Marko is definitely seeing his influence in many areas of Red Bull Racing. But he is important for the most valuable assets of Red Bull because he provides a direct line between VestAppen and his own ownership. And he is important to VestAppen but is important to the team.
