Last Updated on January 2 2024, 12:25 pm

Dr, Helmut Marko recently announced his future with the Red Bull organisation is set to continue following rumours the organisations ‘racing consultant’ could be ousted in a power struggle. The 80 year old Austrian has often been the mouth piece for both Alpha Tauri and Red Bull and at times at odds with Christian Horner as he admitted over the recruitment of Nyck de Vries.

Marko’s friendship with Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz predates even Honer’s arrival at Red Bull in 2006 and his keen eye for young drivers has been key to both team’s success with more than 25% of the current grid having been groomed by the good doctor.

 

 

 

Marko outspoken over Perez performance

Yet Helmut speaks on all things Red Bull, claiming recently it was he who brokered the deal with Honda to replace the ailing Renault power trains which hampered the team’s progress for much of the V6 Turbo era. Marko speaks regularly on the Red Bull Service TV and to Austrian media group OE24 addressing issues which Christian Horner at times appears to body swerve.

The Austrian appeared to put the cat amongst the pigeons last October when he insisted Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson would be driving before the start of the 2025 season. This creates a conundrum over which of the present driver line up would give way to facilitate a seat for the promising New Zealander.

Clearly Max Verstappen is going nowhere, Yuki Tsunoda looks safe while Honda are supplying power units for two more years and Daniel Ricciardo was snatched up by Christian Horner when McLaren decided to end his contract early.

Given Marko has been outspoken regarding the poor performances of Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, its clear that in his mind it is the Mexican who should give way for the next protege from his young driver programme. Lawson impressed during his five Grand Prix standing in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo in 2023 and looked set to replace Tsunoda for the coming year in the rebranded AlphaTuari junior team.

Marko Red Bull future announced

 

 

 

Horner admits Checo’s seat is his to lose

Yet behind the scenes Honda flexed their muscle in support of their fellow Japanese driver who had looked second best to the returning Daniel Ricciardo following the axe of Nyck de Vries. Meanwhile Perez’s erratic form is always a concern for the F1 world champions particularly should another team with two capable drivers close the gap on the current world champions.

Dr. Marko called Perez out several times during last season for his woeful performances in the same car his team mate was smashing records week in and out. His most famous outburst claimed Perez lacked the obsessive focus of Verstappen but that this was a trait seen before in other “South American” F1 drivers.

Of course amusingly Sergio’s homeland Mexico is not in South America, yet the calls of racism particularly from Lewis Hamilton, a known diversity campaigner, were swift and the FIA bowed to pressure and issued Marko with a warning over his conduct.

At times even Christian Horner was under pressure to answer questions over whether Perez would remit with the Red Bull team for the final year of his contract in 2024. The relentless questions each weekend resulted in Horner finally admitting the seat alongside Max Verstappen was Checo’s to lose.

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Marko doubts Perez will finish the season

Of course were Perez to start the season on the back foot, with Verstappen winning races and him failing to deliver 1-2 finishes, the talk of him being replaced with ignite quicker than a bushfire in the outback of Australia. It won’t be Lawson who replaces Perez, but Ricciardo would return to do battle with his old team mate which he did for three years successfully before leaving for Renault and then McLaren.

Lawson will then take the vacant seat at Scuderia AlphaTauri RB and will be benchmarked against Yuki Tsunoda in his fourth year of Formula One. Speaking on Lawson’s future to OE24, Dr. Marko has sparked a fresh round of speculation that he believes Perez will be replaced before the end of 2024.

“As things stand he will fulfil his contract until the end of 2024, then we’ll see,” Marko told Austrian outlet OE24. Of course the conditional nature of Marko’s remarks mean nothing is certain and this together with his responses on Lawson’s expected future are not difficult to interpret.

Red Bull Newey era to end says Horner

 

 

 

Liam Lawson to drive in 2024

Speaking to Kleine Zeitung Dr. Marko reveals that Lawson “is a tough racer and one of the strongest drivers ever in a duel.

“With the role as reserve driver, he has a big task next year but by 2025 at the latest, he will be in a Formula 1 car anyway,” stated the Austrian. Of course the implication is clear Marko believes Lawson will drive for AT before the end of 2024 and when pushed on this he replied:

“Yes, and before that he should at least drive a few more races so that we can see where his potential really lies.”

Perez is almost in a no win situation. Should he begin the year well in relation to his team mate, then that is what is expected should Red Bull produce another car that is the class of the field. If the reverse happens the calls for him to be ditched will ring loud before the F1 circus even arrives in Europe and then Marko’s hooded prediction will of course become true.

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Perez qualifying problems

Checo knows where he predominantly failed last year as his team mate clocked up 19 wins in 22 races. His poor form in qualifying even missing Q3 seven times meant Perez always had a lot more to do when it came to the Grand Prix on Sunday.

“I think the Sunday form has been very, very strong this year. That’s the only reason we finished P2 in the Championship,” Perez told assembled media after the last race in Abu Dhabi.

“I think that many Saturdays have been very difficult this season, and it’s something we’ve got to work on [and] make sure that we improve for next year.

“I think we also have to give credit to Max, he’s done an incredible year in the history of the sport. He’s been driving really, really well and it’s been very impressive to see.”

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Qualifying harder as F1 field closes up

With Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren all hoping to close the gap on Red Bull, its difficult to see how Sergio will improve his career long Achilles heel. At the final round in Abu Dhabi, each of the 21 cars was within a second in the first round of qualifying.

This clearly makes it difficult for even the best driver over a single lap to guarantee a flawless performance each time they lay down a time. This writer believes the task will be too much for Sergio Perez and as Dr. Marko predicts, Liam Lawson will be racing in F1 during the season ahead.

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