Helmut Marko orders Red Bull starlet to quit karting on path to F1

Helmut Marko has been issuing advice to the next generation of racing talent as a Red Bull F1 hopeful was told to abandon karting.

Red Bull supports young racing talent throughout all stages of their junior racing career, with the brand adding teenager Rocco Coronel to their junior team last year after impressing during a three-day test at Jerez.

The Dutch racing driver – who is the son of former racing driver Tom Coronel – burst onto the karting scene at a young age and has since won the FIA Karting European Championship in the OK-Junior category, alongside a third-place finish at the World Championship in 2024.

Now 14 years old, Coronel Jr competes in the British Ginetta Junior Championship, where he currently leads the championship and has won an impressive nine out of 12 races in 2025.

Originally, the youngster planned to continue karting alongside the championship, but this was scrapped due to advice from Red Bull F1 chief Helmut Marko.

“We realised that it was difficult to combine with the Ginetta schedule,” Coronel Jr said to Dutch publication De Telegraaf.

“To give you an example: we could only participate in a few of the European karting competitions. That means you can’t win the championship and you don’t get the best engines.

“My father consulted with Helmut Marko at the beginning of this year, and he was very clear, ‘why would you continue karting when you’ve already proven yourself in that field?’. That’s when we decided to stop.

“Red Bull set the necessary goals. That I had to try to become rookie champion and win a few races. Well, that’s going well.”

Image credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Is Coronel Jr the next Verstappen?

A Dutch racing sensation. Backed by Red Bull. A former racing driver as a father, supporting and coaching you at every race. It is difficult not to draw comparisons between Coronel Jr and Verstappen.

While F1 is the goal for the youngster, his father Coronel Sr is taking his career each race at a time and added that his son has much to learn in the racing world.

“The truth is the truth. Second place isn’t good enough. That’s just how it works in this world,” Coronel Sr said.

“On the one hand, I try to protect Rocco because he’s my son. On the track, I’m his coach one hundred percent. I leave my emotions as a father out of it, because that’s when things go wrong.

“But on the other hand, I’m more critical of him than I’ve ever been of anyone else. If my tips can help him go five hundredths faster, that can be the difference between winning and losing. We’ll see where the ship ends up in the coming years.

“Everyone wants to get to Formula 1 in the end. You can only do that if you give it your all and work hard. Rocco still has so much to learn in the next five years.

“But you shouldn’t talk about it too much. The results should speak for themselves. That’s why we don’t talk about the Ginetta championship at all. Just win as many races as possible, and you’ll find out when you can pick up that big trophy.”

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Helmut Marko orders Red Bull starlet to quit karting on path to F1

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