“He could’ve been ours” Marko Admits Red Bull Missed the Hülkenberg Boat – In the swirling chaos of tyre smoke, furious pit wall radio and endless simulator data, Formula 1 rarely pauses for sentimental reflection. But every so often, a driver manages to tug at the heartstrings of the paddock and remind everyone of what could have been. This weekend, Nico Hülkenberg did just that, climbing onto the Silverstone podium after 239 starts without experiencing the joy of Champagne spraying.
His long-awaited success moved not only fans and fellow drivers, but also prompted a rare display of humility from Red Bull’s notoriously tough senior advisor, Helmut Marko.
A belated ‘what if’ from Red Bull
“After 239 races on the podium, we can only congratulate him,” Marko told Austrian outlet oe24. “He has a lot of sympathy in the paddock.” For once, the sharp-tongued kingmaker of Red Bull’s driver programme was offering praise, and more importantly, regret, rather than wielding a verbal axe.
When asked if failing to sign Hülkenberg during Red Bull’s driver reshuffle a few years ago had been a mistake, Marko gave a brief and candid response: “Yes, it was.”
In classic Marko fashion, however, the confession came with caveats. ‘That was before we signed Checo Pérez,’ he added. ‘At the time, it was the right decision. Checo was winning. Hülkenberg was throwing away races.’
Yet time — and perhaps an Audi-backed resurgence — has caused Marko to change his opinion of the German journeyman. “The older he gets, the fewer mistakes he makes,” said the Red Bull advisor. ‘That’s why he has a good contract with Audi.’
It’s as close to a love letter as anyone’s likely to get from Helmut Marko.
While Hülkenberg is soaring, Red Bull is sinking
While Nico Hülkenberg was celebrating his first ever top-three finish, the mood inside the Red Bull garage at Silverstone could not have been more different. Red Bull Racing is fast discovering what it’s like to be mortal again: a little tired, a little confused, and increasingly familiar with second place.
Max Verstappen, usually the master of chaos and dry-to-wet transitions, couldn’t keep pace with the McLarens. The Red Bull car, once dominant, now looks blunt in comparison to the sharp McLaren MCL39.
Marko didn’t sugar-coat it:
“The World Championship is over,” he declared with theatrical finality, effectively conceding defeat before the season’s summer break. “McLaren is vastly superior. You just have to acknowledge that.”
In perhaps the biggest shock of all, Marko even declared it a two-horse race. ‘It will be decided between Norris and Piastri,’ he said, omitting his own four-time world champion from the conversation entirely.
One wonders if Verstappen watched that interview with a raised eyebrow.
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Verstappen and the Mercedes-shaped elephant in the room
As if watching McLaren dominate Red Bull wasn’t painful enough, the spectre of Max Verstappen potentially defecting to Mercedes still looms large over Milton Keynes. The Dutchman’s exit clause — a tantalising detail tucked away in a contract that was supposed to keep him racing for Red Bull until 2028 — remains at the centre of endless speculation.
Marko, ever the gatekeeper of contractual truths, tried to play it cool.
‘There are no current developments,’ he said, with all the emotional detachment of someone discussing whether the coffee machine is working. However, he did confirm that Verstappen’s exit clause is currently inactive.
Nevertheless, the whispers won’t die down. With Mercedes openly courting Verstappen and Red Bull’s performance deteriorating rapidly, the Dutchman’s options remain very much on the table. If McLaren continues their dominant streak and Red Bull fails to respond — or if the internal friction with Christian Horner boils over again, all bets are off.
A Hülkenberg-shaped sliding door?
Looking back, Red Bull’s revolving door of second drivers — from Alex Albon to Pierre Gasly to the now-departed Sergio Pérez — has been a carousel of unmet expectations. Hülkenberg, once dismissed as not being ‘a winner’, has rebranded himself as a mature, consistent and highly respected figure — exactly the kind of profile that Red Bull could have benefited from alongside Verstappen during turbulent periods.
Instead, the team’s second seat has become synonymous with internal drama, confidence-shattering comparisons and a steady stream of headlines. Hülkenberg, written off as a journeyman without a win to his name, kept his head down and is now being paid handsomely by Audi to lead a factory-backed F1 resurgence in 2026.
While it may be a late-career renaissance, in Formula 1, timing is everything — and Hülkenberg is finally getting his.
Silverstone glory, Red Bull misery, and a lesson in patience
As the British crowd cheered Hülkenberg on to his long-overdue podium, Red Bull was forced to confront an unfamiliar reality: the overlooked underdog can sometimes show you how it’s done.
Meanwhile, McLaren marches on, Ferrari flounders as usual, and Red Bull finds itself in a strange new world — no longer the juggernaut, but the chaser.
For Helmut Marko, the words ‘yes, it was’ may haunt him more than any technical debrief. In a parallel universe, perhaps it would be Nico Hülkenberg standing beside Verstappen, providing the cool, calm consistency that Red Bull so desperately needs right now.
What do you think? Did Red Bull miss a golden opportunity with Hülkenberg? Can McLaren hold off Verstappen’s charge in the second half of the season? And should Max stick around with a team that seems to be waving the white flag in July?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Is Formula one finally getting its act together as fr as long term planning is concerned? 2026 will see the beginning of a new F1 power unit era as the current V6 hybrid turbo power units receive a substantial makeover. Gone are the expensive and complicated heat recovery systems and the electrical power output will be upped 300% to deliver 50% of the total BHP.
There remain concerns that the required level of electrical output will be tough to deliver at certain circuits, where braking is low and the corners are high speed. Back in 2023 Christian Horner raised the spectacle of “Frankenstein” cars which run the internal engine at times merely as a generator to produce electrical power.
Earlier this year, the FIA president proposed ditching the new hybrid powertrains all together to replace them with normally aspirated V10’s running on sustainable fuel. However, at least two powertrain suppliers refused this proposal with Audi stating the reason they joined F1 was because of the new engine architecture.
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