Helmut Marko has privately told one Red Bull talent he needs to grow his ‘fanbase’ through social media

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Helmut Marko oversees Red Bull’s famous driver programme. In Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, it has produced two of the greatest F1 drivers ever.

While Red Bull may no longer have a young talent of that calibre on their books, Marko has continued to push for internal promotions. He opposed Daniel Ricciardo’s return to junior team RB, and successfully lobbied for junior driver Liam Lawson to replace him three quarters of the way through the season.

Now, Marko disagrees with Christian Horner on the team’s 2025 line-ups. He’s inclined to elevate Lawson to Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen at the expense of the chronically underperforming Sergio Perez.

However, Horner is keen to sign Franco Colapinto from Williams and parachute him straight into the top team. Signing Colapinto would be ‘painful’ for the Red Bull family because it would see their in-house options overlooked, one journalist says.

Alpine are also interested in Colapinto, so if Marko wins out and Lawson gets the Red Bull seat, there could be a vacancy at RB next to Yuki Tsunoda. F2 title contender Isack Hadjar would be the favourite to fill it.

Ayumu Iwasa could also be a contender. While he’s primarily raced in Super Formula this year, Iwasa appeared for RB in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix in April.

Helmut Marko tells Ayumu Iwasa he needs to attract more fans via social media

Speaking to Motorsport Netherlands, Iwasa shared details of his talks with Marko. The executive director has urged him to be more active on social media in order to build his profile.

He admits that he neglected his social accounts in the past because he ‘didn’t have time’ in the midst of his racing commitments. But now he recognises that earning new fans in the online space will strengthen his argument for an F1 seat.

Iwasa finished fifth in this year’s Super Formula standings, having scored three podiums in nine races. He also placed in the top five in both of his F2 seasons.

“I’ve done two events this year and I’ve been more present on my social media,” Iwasa said. “When I was in F2, I couldn’t really use social media because I was racing overseas. And to be honest, I didn’t have time for it.

“If you want to get into F1, it’s more and more important to have a fan base, to be recognised and to manage your social media well. I can see that happening before my eyes and that’s one of the tasks that Red Bull has given me.

“When I spoke to Red Bull, and specifically Helmut, about going to Super Formula, he told me: ‘Now that you’re in Japan, use that time to increase your visibility and your fan base. If you’ve done that, try it in F1.”

Did Helmut Marko go too far with his comments about Lando Norris?

Iwasa seems to be heading Marko’s advice and well he should, given that the Austrian is an expert at working the media. This season, he’s consistently played mind games with Lando Norris, Verstappen’s chief title rival.

This has largely been one-sided, but Marko was involved in a spat with Zak Brown either side of the United States GP. This was after Marko suggested Norris was mentally weak.

Brown saw it as a mental health issue and called the remarks ‘inappropriate’. But his Red Bull counterpart felt his words had been twisted.

Verstappen doesn’t need his colleagues to fire digs through the media. He still looks to be on good terms with Norris, and seemingly prefers to keep their rivalry on track.