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It is looking increasingly likely that Helmut Marko will no longer be in the paddock with Red Bull Racing during the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Helmut Marko has been a mainstay in F1 since Red Bull made their debut in the sport in 2005.
The 82-year-old was the eyes and ears for the Austrian side of the business alongside Christian Horner for two decades.
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Dietrich Mateschitz’s death in 2022 started the splinters within the team, and with Horner and Adrian Newey both gone, it looks like Marko will now also be moving on, leaving current team principal Laurent Mekies with even more responsibility.
Marko played a crucial role in Isack Hadjar’s promotion, and in his position as the team’s driver development chief, has also overseen Arvid Lindblad making his way into Formula 1 with Racing Bulls in 2026.
However, Red Bull overruled Marko on the decision to sign F2 star Alex Dunne, and after frustrating staff internally with his media comments, he might have cost the team ‘hundreds of thousands’ as well.
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Helmut Marko cost Red Bull ‘hundreds of thousands’ over Alex Dunne decision
Alex Dunne emerged as one of the standout drivers in Formula 2 this year, and gave hope to fans from the Republic of Ireland that they might have their first F1 driver since Ralph Firman coming through the ranks.
Dunne impressed McLaren in free practice when he replaced Lando Norris at the Austrian Grand Prix, before being mysteriously dropped by Andrea Stella’s team in October.
A report from the Dutch outlet De Limburger has suggested a reason why the Irishman suddenly found himself outside of McLaren’s driver programme.
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They believe that Marko signed Dunne without the permission of Red Bull shareholders or Mekies, as they had both decided not to bring him in.
On top of this, Marko also signed Lindblad to Racing Bulls halfway through 2025 against the team’s wishes, as they still wanted to mull over whether to keep Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson.
Red Bull’s chiefs ‘reacted furiously’ to Dunne’s new contract and cancelled it straight away, costing the team ‘hundreds of thousands’ as a result.
It summed up the feeling within the team, as ESPN also reported that the 82-year-old frequently left Red Bull’s media staff frustrated as he would give interviews on a range of topics whenever he pleased, even when instructed not to.
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What Laurent Mekies has now said about Helmut Marko’s Red Bull future
Marko upset F1 fans with his comments on Kimi Antonelli after the Qatar Grand Prix, when he accused the teenager of deliberately moving over for Norris to influence the championship battle.
Toto Wolff called his comments ‘brainless’, and Red Bull were forced to apologise, with it being said that this has also played into the team’s thinking about ending Marko’s contract a year early.
Mekies was asked about Marko’s future after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and he said: “Helmut has been incredible in how supportive he has been into helping us turning around things this year.
“Obviously, him and top management had quite a few difficult decisions to make in the year, and of course, we always know F1 is not a static environment.
“You always adjust your organisations. It applies to technical, it applies to sporting, and it’s completely normal that we review how we can improve the way we operate all the time.
“I’m not saying that specifically for Helmut, but I’m saying that in general, we are in an environment where we always challenge each other and look for the next steps, no matter how small it is, in trying to work together.
“But I can only thank Helmut for the role he has played into making fundamentally better what looked like a difficult situation mid-season.”
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