Verstappen pays tribute to retiring Red Bull adviser

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 was a key figure who prepared Verstappen to become the youngest driver in F1 history when he made his debut aged just 17 in 2015, and the pair have been close ever since.

"Thank you, Helmut," Verstappen wrote on Instagram. "We've achieved everything we ever dreamed of together. I'm forever grateful for your belief in me."

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. Another key figure, car design great Adrian Newey, left Red Bull earlier this year and will head up Aston Martin in 2026.

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.

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

An F1 driver in the early 1970s before he was blinded in one eye by a rock that pierced his helmet visor, Marko was an influential figure in team politics — especially when Verstappen's confidence in the team seemed shaken earlier this year — and he was close to his fellow Austrian and 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 their 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.

Red Bull said Tuesday that 20 drivers had reached F1 after being part of Red Bull's junior program at some stage of their careers.

Agencies Via Xinhua