The crazy world of working with Helmut Marko - “When he goes rogue…”

Marko has served as motorsport advisor to the Red Bull team since their inception in 2005 and has built up a close-knit relationship with team principal Horner. 

Horner acknowledged Marko’s importance in selecting some of the best young talents to drive for Red Bull, but he also noted the 80-year-old Austrian’s tendency to speak his mind. 

Marko’s brutally honest remarks have often landed him in hot water over the years, and Horner admitted the media “only have to prod him” to “get a headline”. 

“I’ve known him for a long time,” Horner told ESPN. “When I first met him in 1996, I needed to buy a trailer for the Formula 3000 and Formula 2 team that I had.

“Helmut, first of all, he’s a passionate racer. He was a good driver himself until his accident and he’s just very direct.

“With junior drivers, he’s picked some great ones. He’s a tough operator with the junior drivers but if they can’t survive Helmut, they’ll never survive Formula 1.

“He’s 80 years young, he’s still watching every Formula 3 session and following the young talent religiously. I’ve always had a very straightforward and good relationship with him.”

Horner added: “He’s a communication manager’s nightmare. When he goes rogue, then you guys [the media] only have to prod him and you’ll get a headline.

“But he just calls it as he sees it. He will tell you exactly what he thinks which in many respects is very similar to how Niki Lauda was.

“That same generation, same makeup in many ways. But there’s a great respect for Helmut and what he’s done and contributed over the years and at 80 years of age, he’s still looking for purple sectors.”