{"id":352970,"date":"2025-12-18T09:28:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T09:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/352970\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T09:28:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T09:28:06","slug":"marko-admits-red-bull-chaos-cost-verstappen-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/352970\/","title":{"rendered":"Marko admits Red Bull chaos cost Verstappen title"},"content":{"rendered":"

(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko (pictured) has accepted part of the blame for Max Verstappen missing out on a fifth consecutive world championship, admitting Red Bull failed to deliver often enough amid internal chaos.<\/p>\n

\u201cMax delivered another fantastic season this year, perhaps his best ever,\u201d the 82-year-old told Munich Merkur<\/a>. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t his fault, it was ours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t provide him with a car that was on par with his often enough. I partly blame myself for that, and that\u2019s why I wanted to stop now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marko again distanced himself from axed former team boss Christian Horner<\/a>, stressing that his own exit was amicable at board level. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to travel anymore, the timing was right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey did want me to fulfil my contract, which ran until the end of 2026, but then they showed understanding. Contrary to some reports, we parted on very friendly terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ralf Schumacher, however, said the damage had already been done. \u201cThe team was a disaster. It fell apart,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was clear there were two camps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schumacher also noted that Marko\u2019s influence had been steadily reduced. \u201cHelmut has always said it is no longer fun for him when he can no longer decide like before,\u201d he explained. \u201cIf your ideas are passed over every time, then the feeling that you are really needed disappears.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Sport Bild reports that Marko\u2019s overarching role will not be formally replaced, Austrian media say Red Bull did offer him a reduced position focused solely on the driver academy \u2013 an offer he declined. That program, which delivered Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen and helped 15 drivers reach Formula 1, is now expected to be reshaped.<\/p>\n

Schumacher believes a successor is already being lined up. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a big surprise,\u201d he said, explicitly ruling out Vettel. \u201cIt\u2019s not Sebastian Vettel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article:\u00a0Formula 1 News: Marko rules out Vettel return, \u2018Rocky\u2019 to replace Marko<\/a><\/p>\n

He concluded that Red Bull will feel the absence. \u201cThere is absolutely a void,\u201d he said. \u201cEspecially in the junior program.<\/p>\n

\u201cRed Bull is still strong and successful,\u201d added Schumacher, \u201cbut without Helmut Marko it will never be exactly the same.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko (pictured) has accepted part of the blame for Max Verstappen missing out on a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-352970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-formula-1","12":"tag-formula1","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}