After twenty years overseeing Red Bull’s driver decisions, Helmut Marko is set to retire. An announcement confirming the 82-year-old’s F1 exit is expected relatively soon, as Red Bull enter a new era under Laurent Mekies.

Marko has never been a stranger to controversy. Both his off-track comments and bold driver changes were regular sources of contention and discussion.

However, it is understood his presence at Milton Keynes no longer aligns with the team’s restructuring for 2026 and beyond.

In particular, a recent mishap regarding Formula 2 driver Alex Dunne is known to have contributed to the Le Mans winner stepping aside.

Max Verstappen and Dr Helmut Mark in Imola, Italy. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Helmut Marko’s time at Red Bull comes to an end

Since Red Bull entered Formula 1 two decades ago, Helmut Marko has been entrusted with overseeing their young driver programme. In addition to this, Marko has regularly been the point of authority with regards to the main team’s line-up.

Over the years, the Austrian can be credited with promoting numerous talents up the Red Bull ladder. Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo are among the biggest success stories from the Milton Keynes academy.

At the same time, the 82-year-old can be faulted for a series of missteps. It was Marko, for example, who pushed for Nyck de Vries to replace Pierre Gasly at VCARB for the 2023 season.

This decision kick-started a spell of confusion and instability at the second team. De Vries was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo after only eight rounds – before the Australian was kicked out halfway through the 2024 season for Liam Lawson.

Of course, Lawson himself was only given a chance behind the wheel because of Ricciardo’s injury from the Dutch GP.

The Kiwi, who was the third choice to replace Gasly at the second team in 2023, was suddenly confirmed as Verstappen’s new teammate for 2025. Clearly, the driver merry-go-round at Red Bull was becoming increasingly unpredictable.

In this sense, Helmut Marko had his part to play in creating Red Bull’s driver dilemma. Considering how many ex-Red Bull drivers are thriving elsewhere on the grid (Sainz, Albon, Gasly, etc.) the team are likely to change their philosophy going forward.

With Laurent Mekies as team principal and Red Bull’s ownership looking for a freshening up of the team’s structure, Helmut Marko’s position has been under the microscope.

Dr Helmut Marko. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Marko causes confusion with Dunne move

The growing doubts about Marko’s effectiveness made his recent misstep with Alex Dunne all the more relevant. Dunne, who was previously in the McLaren driver academy, announced his departure from the Woking team’s programme in October.

De Limburger report that Dunne left McLaren because he was approached by Helmut Marko, who signed him to Red Bull’s driver pool. Crucially, though, the 82-year-old did this without approval from the team.

When Red Bull caught wind of what happened, they cancelled their deal with the 20-year-old – and were forced to compensate Dunne financially.

This is understood to have been the final straw. Only a few months earlier, Marko is understood to have signed Arvid Lindblad to VCARB on his own accord. Taking such decisions without consulting the team might have been permissible in the past, but certainly not moving forward.

In many ways, Marko’s hap-hazard move for Dunne demonstrates the free reign Red Bull are no longer interested in entertaining.

Considering the amount of investment put into their academy, the returns have been insufficient in recent years. After all, Verstappen has consistently left his teammates in the dust since Ricciardo’s exit in 2018.

Moving forward, Laurent Mekies is expected to advocate for a more measured and controlled strategy. By doing this, the Frenchman will hope for some stability and continuity among the team’s driver pool.

This could become especially important after 2026, when Verstappen’s future at the team could become in doubt.

Main photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images (Red Bull Content Pool)