Last Updated on December 14 2025, 8:28 am

“Dirty games were being played…” says Helmut Marko, who breaks his silence on the Red Bull power struggle = Helmut Marko has finally spoken, and his words will send shockwaves through Formula 1. In an exclusive farewell interview with De Telegraaf published today, and what could be seen as a ‘mic-drop moment’ for the F1 paddock, the departing Red Bull advisor lifts the lid on the internal power struggle that has torn the team apart over the past two seasons.

While Red Bull’s official statement cites sporting reasons for Marko’s sudden exit, the 82-year-old Austrian paints a far darker picture: one of deception, internal warfare, and what he openly describes as “dirty games”.

Marko’s comments offer the clearest insight yet into why Red Bull Racing imploded from within, and why the exit of Christian Horner was only part of a much bigger story.

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“I didn’t even read that nonsense press release”

Red Bull’s announcement claimed that Max Verstappen’s failure to secure a fifth consecutive world championship played a key role in Marko’s decision to leave. Speaking to De Telegraaf from his office in Graz, Marko dismisses that explanation outright.

“I didn’t even read that nonsense press release,” he says. “Let’s just say that a lot has changed within the team in a very short period of time.”

He refuses to name names directly, but his meaning is unmistakable. The problem, Marko insists, had nothing to do with results on track.

“Winning that fifth title wouldn’t have made any difference,” he says. “For me, it was always about something else.”

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The power struggle that split Red Bull

For years, Red Bull Racing was defined by a clear structure: power resided in Austria, overseen by Marko and the late founder, Dietrich Mateschitz. Christian Horner, appointed team principal in 2005, ran the day-to-day operations in Milton Keynes.

According to Marko, that balance collapsed after Mateschitz’s health deteriorated in 2022.

Marko tells De Telegraaf that Horner began positioning himself to take full control of the team by aligning closely with Red Bull’s Thai shareholder, Chalerm Yoovidhya.

“At a party before the Austrian Grand Prix in 2022, Horner came up to me and said, ‘He won’t make it to the end of the year,’” Marko recalls, referring to Mateschitz. “From that moment on, everything changed.”

When Mateschitz passed away later that year, Marko claims Horner “did everything he could” to seize power with Yoovidhya’s backing.

“On behalf of Austria, I did everything I could to prevent that,” Marko says.

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“Dirty games were being played”

The conflict, Marko reveals, quickly turned toxic.

“Those last few years with Horner were not pleasant,” he admits. “Dirty games were being played.”

According to Marko, false statements were repeatedly attributed to him in an attempt to damage his credibility and remove him from the organisation altogether.

He cites several examples: claims that he had criticised Sergio Pérez by saying Mexican drivers lacked focus, and rumours that he had suggested Red Bull’s engine project was behind schedule, potentially jeopardising Ford’s involvement.

“I never said those things,” Marko insists. “They were fabricated.”

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The suspension that never happened

One allegation is particularly explosive. Marko claims Horner attempted to use these fabricated comments as grounds to have him suspended from Red Bull Racing during the 2024 season.

“I supposedly spread the rumour in 2024 that the development of our engine was behind schedule and that we would therefore lose Ford as our sponsor. I never said that, but Horner wanted to use it to suspend me. Because Max stepped in at Jeddah, it didn’t happen.” Marko says.

According to De Telegraaf, only one person stopped that plan from going ahead: Max Verstappen.

“Because Max intervened in Jeddah, it didn’t happen,” Marko reveals.

The admission underlines just how close Marko came to being forced out, and how significant Verstappen’s influence had become behind the scenes.

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Why Horner finally lost power

For years, Horner enjoyed the unwavering support of Chalerm Yoovidhya. That support, Marko says, eventually evaporated.

“We were increasingly able to prove that Horner was lying about everything and anything,” Marko states bluntly. “Once Chalerm realised that, he changed his mind.”

In July, Horner was finally dismissed, ending more than two decades at the helm. Yet Marko insists the decision came too late to save Red Bull’s season.

“Had we acted earlier, Max would have become world champion,” he says. “I am absolutely convinced of that.”

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Not a victory, just damage limitation

Despite ultimately “winning” the power struggle, Marko rejects the idea that Horner’s removal felt like a triumph.

“No,” he says. “We had to act because performance was suffering.”

By the time Red Bull intervened, the internal damage had already been done.

Now, preparing to watch Formula 1 from home for the first time in two decades, Marko sounds relieved — but also deeply disillusioned.

“You think you know people well, in the end, that turns out not to be the case.”

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NEXT ARTICLE – Hamilton quits his battle to revolutionise Ferrari F1 team

For all the media briefing about how passionate Lewis Hamilton is over doing a Michael Schumacher and making Ferrari great again (MFGA) he farewell in Abu Dhabi was a disconsolate throwing in of the towel.

Lewis has repeatedly claimed this year he has been sending in documents for the perusal of the Scuderia senior management in an effort to wake the sleeping giant in Maranello. He spoke of “structural re-organisation” in the summer when asked about the contents of his ‘documents’ together with specific deficiencies in the SF-25

The ‘Hamilton files’ have not gone down well in certain corners of Ferrari’s HQ as engineers resent being told ‘this is the way we did it at Mercedes.’ Yet this is none of Lewis’ fault, its all part of Ferrari arrogance based on a once glorious past.

 

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On media day before the F1 seasons finale, Lewis again spoke of him taking a ‘hands on approach’ in terms of Ferrari reform and how he refused to accept his tenure with the Scuderia will go the same disappointing ways as Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

“It is a huge organisation and there’s a lot of moving parts and not all of them are firing on all the cylinders that need to be. That’s ultimately why the team’s not had the success that I think it deserves.

“So I feel that it’s my job to challenge absolutely every area, to challenge everybody in the team, particularly the guys that are at the top making the decisions. If you look at the team over the last 20 years, they’ve had amazing drivers.

“You’ve had Fernando, you’ve had Sebastian. All world champions. However, they didn’t win a World Champion[ship] with Ferrari. And I refuse for that to be the case with me, so I’m going the extra mile,” claimed the seven times champion…READ MORE ON THIS STORY