Red Bull\u2019s current racing stable has remained in contact with Helmut Marko, several months after the senior advisor left the team, having made himself \u201cvery open and available\u201d to the team for conversations when needed.<\/p>\n
Marko helmed Red Bull\u2019s junior programme for two decades before stepping down at the end of 2025, and has played a significant role in all of the programme\u2019s graduates having taken their first steps in Formula 1.<\/p>\n
Helmut Marko still \u2018behind the corners if we need him\u2019 for Red Bull advice<\/p>\n
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Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust.<\/p>\n The Austrian had reported directly to parent company Red Bull GmbH\u2019s top table, rather than Red Bull Racing<\/a> itself, and was responsible for overseeing the programme which has brought the likes of Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz into the sport.<\/p>\n While famously a hard taskmaster, pushing for the best results possible with every driver, Verstappen in particular likened him to being a \u2018second father\u2019 in a racing context as far back as 2018, with the two having held a \u201cvery emotional\u201d call<\/a> when Marko informed Verstappen of his exit.<\/p>\n While no longer a part of the team, the former senior advisor has kept tabs on the current stable of drivers, as team principal Laurent Mekies explained.<\/p>\n He told a recent episode of the Beyond the Grid podcast: \u201cHelmut has remained very open and available to us. I am [talking to him], they are, I\u2019m sure we are all having chats with him and getting guidance from him, even though you don\u2019t see him turning up at the racetrack.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t turn the page of Helmut that has been building this young driver programme for two decades with incredible success. You don\u2019t turn that page quickly. So we are living on his legacy right now, and as I said, he\u2019s behind the corners if we need him.\u201d<\/p>\n More on the 2026 regulations after the first rounds of the season<\/p>\n Max Verstappen\u2019s inspired solution to force F1 2026 rule changes<\/a><\/p>\n F1 cannot ignore warning signs after Oliver Bearman crash exposes 2026 flaws<\/a><\/p>\n Verstappen<\/a> spoke with a similar sentiment at the season opener in Australia, given the amount they have shared through the Dutchman\u2019s career ever since he joined the Red Bull stable at 15 years old.<\/p>\n Asked about the atmosphere without him at Red Bull, Verstappen told PlanetF1.com and others: \u201cMaybe a few less Austrian-sided jokes from Helmut, but I\u2019m in touch with him anyway. Maybe not so much about details of the car, but just life.<\/p>\n \u201cI shared so many moments with him so, of course, it will feel a little bit different in the garage, but you also have to just look ahead, right?<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to think about performance, but at the same time, like I said, great relationship, and we stay in touch anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Isack Hadjar, who stepped up to Red Bull for the 2026 season, had a rocky start in Formula 1 after crashing on the formation lap on his debut in Australia last year.<\/p>\n Marko received backlash for labelling his emotions at that moment \u201cembarrassing\u201d on Hadjar\u2019s part, with the Frenchman going on to respond not just build a reputation on track, but be chosen as Verstappen\u2019s teammate for 2026.<\/p>\n Hadjar, too, is still in contact with his former junior team mentor, though when asked about how the Austrian responded to the youngster\u2019s start at Red Bull<\/a> and if he had been impressed, Hadjar quipped with a smile in China that \u201che\u2019s never impressed\u201d, referring to Marko\u2019s high standards.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s latest junior graduate, Arvid Lindblad, also spoke of the influence Marko had in his route to Formula 1, telling the sport\u2019s official website in December that Marko kept the faith in him when others had faltered.<\/p>\n The teenager added: \u201cThere are certain things he wants to see, and I mean, I can\u2019t talk for others and their experience, but I\u2019ve always had a very good relationship with him, and he\u2019s helped my career massively.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that he believed in me when others didn\u2019t, I\u2019m very grateful towards him, because this opportunity wouldn\u2019t have come without him.\u201d<\/p>\n That contact has kept going into this season, with the Briton having impressed in his early rounds in Formula 1 and getting his first points on the board with Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n Having revealed they spoke after the season-opener in Australia, Lindblad said in China: \u201cObviously, I have a very special relationship with Helmut.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very grateful for everything he\u2019s done for me. He brought me onto the Red Bull programme when I was 13, he\u2019s a massive reason why I\u2019ve got this opportunity this year. So yeah, it\u2019s sad for me not to have him in the paddock.\u201d<\/p>\n Marko was often outspoken on Formula 1 as the seasons went by, and he has continued offering his opinions this season through Austrian and German media outlets.<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Mat Coch<\/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