Former Red Bull junior Karun Chandhok said he left on \u201cgood terms\u201d with then team principal Christian Horner and senior advisor Helmut Marko, claiming he was \u201cone of the few\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n
But, that does not mean he had it easy from the no-nonsense Helmut Marko. Being hung up on mid-sentence, and being called \u201can old man\u201d, were among the vintage Marko moments which Chandhok experienced.<\/p>\n
Chandhok left Red Bull \u2018on good terms\u2019 with Horner and Marko<\/p>\n
Red Bull<\/a> boasts a standout driver academy, one which has produced multi-time World Champions in Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. Multi-time grand prix winners Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo also appear in the list of graduates to Formula 1.<\/p>\n A driver who was previously a part of that system was Karun Chandhok, for one year, in 2008.<\/p>\n While not with Red Bull, Chandhok did reach the F1 grid. He made 11 grand prix starts across stints with backmarker teams HRT and Lotus. He went on to become a key figure in Sky\u2019s Formula 1 coverage as an analyst and commentator.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a Red Bull junior, but I chose to leave it,\u201d Chandhok revealed on Sky\u2019s \u2018The F1 Show\u2019 podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t see a path into Toro Rosso at the time, so I went off to do something else.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I was one of the few, I think I left on good terms with Helmut and Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n That did not make Chandhok immune, however, to Marko\u2019s well-known blunt way of working.<\/p>\n \u201cHelmut gave me my first F1 test, and I was on the junior team for a period of time. He was tough,\u201d Chandhok continued.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember sitting on EasyJet flights back when I was doing GP2, Formula 2 now, and you\u2019re trying to explain what\u2019s happened to your weekend, and he\u2019d just go, \u2018Well, that was not very good\u2019. And he\u2019d just hang up on you mid-sentence.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember Valencia, he walked up to me in the paddock and said, \u2018Hmm, 24, you\u2019re now an old man. Better get on with it\u2019, and just walked off. So, yeah, he was tough.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Helmut Marko and Red Bull exit<\/p>\n Why Red Bull 2.0 left no room for renegade Helmut Marko<\/a><\/p>\n Hulkenberg responds after Marko\u2019s \u2018hindsight\u2019 Red Bull second seat admission<\/a><\/p>\n That being said, Marko\u2019s formula delivered, Chandhok states.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, you know what? He got results.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think he was bold, where a lot of people in that paddock were conservative, by plucking Max Verstappen out of Formula 3, out of a single season of Formula 3, no other car racing\u2026 Max went from go karts, Formula 3, Formula 1. That was a massive step that Helmut backed, and Helmut chose to do, and he single-handedly made that call.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to give him credit for making those sort of decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n 2025 brought about the departures of both Horner and Marko, who had been with Red Bull ever since its arrival on the F1 grid in 2005.<\/p>\n Horner was dismissed as team boss following the British Grand Prix, while Red Bull announced recently that Marko was to step down as a senior advisor. He has since been removed from his various directorships.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n