F1 Rumour: Red Bull Tensions Rise Between Christian Horner And Helmut Marko
Tensions seem to be rising between senior Red Bull personnel and from the looks of it, team principal Christian Horner is looking for a way to get rid of long-time colleague and senior team advisor Helmut Marko.
The history of the two Red Bull seniors dates back 28 years when Horner required a trailer for his Formula 3000 team. He met Marko when he headed to Austria and Eleven years later, the two began working together at Red Bull.
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Marko has landed himself in controversial news on many occasions for his statements, including the xenophobic comments he made about the team's driver Sergio Perez. That was something that didn't go too well with Horner.
However, the power status within the company changed after founder Dietrich Mateschitz’s death last year. The Austrian advisor, who was seen as a close aide of the late founder had been untouchable in the organization. But, his passing away has made Marko's position more vulnerable.
Surprisingly, a political movement within Red Bull seems to be brewing as per Brazilian outlet Globo, which reports that a plot is being made to get rid of Marko. The story, which also received a contribution from former F1 driver Luciano Burti claims that there has been turmoil within the team since the death of its founder.
In addition, it also suggests that Horner has been trying to get rid of Marko for a while to take complete control of the group's F1 operations. In a tussle between Horner and Marko, the advisor's future within the Red Bull group is said to be decided this week.
Recalling Horner's statements after the Singapore GP about Marko's racist remarks on Perez, he cleverly distanced Marko from the team. He said:
“His [Marko's] contract is with Red Bull GmbH.
"He’s not an employee, he’s not on the payroll of Red Bull Racing.
"To be a director doesn’t mean that you are automatically an employee, as we see with other companies if you look at who the directorships are, so his reporting line and structure is to Red Bull GmbH so that doesn’t sit on our books.”
