The statement said that the 82-year-old Austrian was the initiator of this decision and has decided to step down from all his positions within the company, including his role as head of the Red Bull Junior program.
Red Bull confirm Helmut Marko exit
Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko will officially leave the company at the end of this year.
Helmut Marko: “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. It 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 I’m convinced that they will be fighting for both world championship titles again next year”.
Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO Corporate Projects and Investments at Red Bull: 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.
Helmut Marko was born on 27 April 1943 in Graz, Austria. In 1967, he graduated from the University of Graz with a degree in law and earned a doctorate.
Marko entered motorsport in the second half of the 1960s and, in his early years, competed at his own expense. Between 1970 and 1972, he took part in the World Sportscar Championship and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1971.
His Formula 1 debut came in the same year, when he entered his first races as part of the Ecurie Bonnier team. His F1 career, which included only nine race starts and no wins, podiums, or even a single point, came to an early end a year later, when a piece of debris from another car pierced his helmet visor during the French Grand Prix and injured his eye.
Having lost sight in his left eye, Helmut had to end his driving career. However, he remained involved in motorsport in various roles over the years. Eventually, in 2005, he began working at Red Bull as a motorsport advisor and achieved many successes with the team over the next 20 years. The Red Bull Junior Team, which he led, has in recent years produced many Formula 1 drivers, including two multiple world champions.
In February 2024, during the scandal surrounding former team principal Christian Horner, Helmut found himself on the opposite side and played a role in the polarization that emerged within the team. After two difficult seasons for the team, he finally decided to part ways with it.
One of the greatest figures he brought to Formula 1, Max Verstappen, did not remain indifferent to his departure and shared a farewell and thank-you message on social media.
Max Verstappen: “Thank you, Helmut. We’ve achieved everything we ever dreamed of together. I’m forever grateful for your belief in me”.