Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner has denied reports that he’s attempting to oust Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko from Formula 1.
Reports in the Brazilian and German media during the week suggested Horner has spent the last year making a play for total control of the energy drink brand’s F1 operations, which include both Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri.
But Auto Bild has reported that three-time champion Max Verstappen has thrown his weight behind Marko, tying his future at the team to the Austrian retaining his place in the garage.
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Though Horner has played a major role in the company’s F1 activities since it entered the sport as a constructor in 2005, ultimate power has been exercised by Marko, a long-time confidant of former Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz.
Mateschitz died in October last year, momentarily creating a power vacuum.
Germany’s Auto Bild has reported that Horner subsequently ingratiated himself with Red Bull’s majority Thai ownership in a power play to wrest total control of the F1 venture away from Marko.
It also reported that Horner placed stories in the English media suggesting Marko no longer had the confidence of the business in an attempt to agitate for change.
The German magazine added that Verstappen’s management has since intervened, reporting that the star driver would walk if Marko were thrown out of the team.
Speaking to the UK’s Daily Mirror, Horner denied he had any plans to push Marko out of the business, insisting that they had a strong and long-running working relationship.
“My relationship with Helmut goes back to 1996, when I first bought the trailer from him to compete in the Formula 3000 championship,” he said.
“I then competed against his team and then, when he was responsible for the junior drivers at Red Bull, I contracted those drivers from him in Formula 3000 and won the championship.
“As a result of that, he recommended me and provided me with the opportunity, in front of Dietrich Mateschitz.
“Without Helmut, I wouldn’t be in the position that I am today. Like with the young drivers that he has given an opportunity, he also gave me that opportunity.
“We’ve always enjoyed a very strong and open relationship. Of course there are things that we disagree on now and again, but I think that’s healthy.”
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Horner said Marko still plays an important role in the running of both teams.
“He still has a very valuable role that he plays within the team, and there is absolutely no intent or desire from me or anyone within the team to see that change,” he said.
“For as long as he wants to continue — he’s still a very spritely 80-year-old — I don’t see any change in the way that we work.
“Operationally I run this on a day-to-day basis. For any significant decisions, of course we confer, whether it be drivers or strategic calls. It’s a partnership that has worked for many, many years. Everybody has their role and function to play.”
Oliver Mintzlaff, the former chief of Bundesliga club Leipzig, has assumed board-level responsibility for Red Bull’s F1 involvement since Mateschitz’s death, assuming the role of CEO of Red Bull’s corporate projects and new investments.
Auto Bild has reported Mintzlaff has personally expressed support for Marko’s continuing role in the paddock.
Marko also denied there was any threat to his position in Formula 1, which he is contracted to fulfil until at least the end of next year.
“There has been a lot of speculation in the press recently that shouldn’t be taken seriously,” he told Auto Bild. “We should all keep calm now and think about our core business. That’s sport and not politics.
“I have a contract with Red Bull until the end of next year. After that we’ll see. But it’s up to me whether and how things will continue.
“I’ve definitely received a lot of support recently and that made me very happy.”
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Both Auto Bild and Brazil’s Globo have reported that the reorganisation of AlphaTauri was a major flashpoint in the alleged power play.
Long-time team boss Franz Tost will step down from the position at the end of the year, and both Horner and Marko reportedly scrambled to fill his position with allies.
Horner is said to have wanted to recruit Mercedes head of communications Bradley Lord to the role. Lord has been an increasingly high-profile figure at Mercedes, where he occasionally fulfils some of Toto Wolff’s responsibilities when the Austrian boss is away from the paddock.
Unable to bring Lord across, Horner reportedly sought out FIA man Peter Bayer only to find Marko had already lined him up for the different position of AlphaTauri CEO, with Laurent Mekies then snatched from Ferrari as the new team principal.
A subsequent clash was triggered by Marko’s racial sledging of Sergio Pérez earlier in the year.
Red Bull Racing at first refused to be drawn on the comments before Marko eventually publicly apologised, with Horner emphasising that the adviser wasn’t a Red Bull Racing employee and therefore not his responsibility.
“His contract is with [Austrian company] Red Bull GmbH,” Horner said, distancing himself from his Red Bull Racing co-director. “He’s not an employee, he’s not on the payroll of Red Bull Racing.”
Some have suggested the public distancing was an effort to put the ball back in Red Bull’s court to decide Marko’s future.
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