Helmut Marko will leave Red Bull at the end of 2025, ending a run of more than 20 years as the Formula 1 team’s motorsport advisor.
The move has been framed as Marko’s decision “to step down” but his exit is understood to have a complicated backstory.
Marko, who is 82, was key to the creation of Red Bull’s F1 team and its rise to being one of the championship’s powerhouses.
He steered major decisions for Red Bull Racing and then the second team Toro Rosso, and was in charge of the junior programme that brought Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen into F1.
Despite the success Red Bull enjoyed with Marko working alongside long-time team principal Christian Horner - who was removed from his own role earlier this year - the relationship between Marko and the Red Bull organisation had become strained.
It began to change after the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who Marko was extremely close to, in late 2022.
That prompted a gradual but clear shift in how Red Bull’s parent company oversaw its F1 team, which brought a level of accountability Marko was unfamiliar with.
Significant clashes included Marko making derogatory remarks about then-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez being Mexican in late 2023, a fallout over a failed attempt to oust Marko in early 2024 that Verstappen publicly criticised, and lately Marko sparking significant abuse of Kimi Antonelli for comments made after the Qatar Grand Prix.
Reports in the Netherlands also suggested that Marko has made questionable junior driver decisions this year that Red Bull disagreed with and had to intervene on to overturn.
This is believed to relate to whether ex-McLaren junior Alex Dunne would join the programme or not.
Despite this, Red Bull issued a statement in which Marko and Oliver Mintzlaff, the CEO of corporate projects and investments at Red Bull, who he is understood to have clashed with, both insisted this was entirely Marko’s desire.
“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,” said Marko after Verstappen lost the 2025 title to Lando Norris by two points in Abu Dhabi.
Mintzlaff claims that “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,” said Mintzlaff.
“After a long and intensive conversation, I knew I had to respect his wishes, as I gained the impression that the timing felt right for him to take this step.”
Despite the claims in Red Bull's release, Marko's exit is no surprise given relations seemed to have cooled significantly and it was understood that both Mintzlaff and Red Bull shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya were in agreement after the Abu Dhabi finale that he should be removed.
It is understood that his exit was agreed upon and communicated across Sunday evening and then Monday, ahead of Tuesday's announcement.
What is less clear, though, is what this means for Verstappen. The four-time world champion was a staunch defender of Marko – who gave Verstappen an F1 seat at Toro Rosso straight out of Formula 3 in 2015, which fostered an intense loyalty to each other.
Verstappen's very public backing of Marko at the start of 2024 contrasted harshly with him not supporting Horner during the latter's personal controversy that emerged during that pre-season.
He described Marko as one of his "pillars" in the team and strongly implied he would leave Red Bull if Marko were ousted.
This was averted when Marko agreed a new deal to stay at Red Bull until the end of 2026, which now ends one year early.
It means Verstappen loses a key supporter and someone he valued highly within the organisation – at a time when Red Bull is trying to convince Verstappen to continue long-term.
He has a contract until 2028 himself but could leave sooner than that. It is unclear whether Verstappen's stance on Marko had changed and he has renewed faith in Red Bull as a whole without him, or if he will see this as further evidence the team's core foundations are being permanently eroded.
In addition to Horner being sacked and Marko's split, Red Bull has lost design genius Adrian Newey, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and strategy chief Will Courtenay – who is understood to have been placed on gardening leave having been set to work his full contract before joining McLaren next year.
Within the team, on Verstappen's side of the garage, there is an exodus of senior talent including his number one mechanic, performance engineer, and at least two other lead trackside engineers.
And it is not clear whether his long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will continue in the role in 2026 with a suggestion being that he will move into a more senior position that does not involve going to as many races.
