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Helmut Marko knew that it was the “right time” to leave Red Bull straight after Lando Norris beat Max Verstappen to the 2025 F1 drivers’ title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Milton Keynes team had taken Verstappen to the title in each of the previous four years, and history awaited if the Dutchman could claim the F1 drivers’ championship again in 2025. But Ferrari hero Michael Schumacher remains the only driver to ever take five titles in a row.
McLaren star Norris won his first title by just two points over Verstappen after 24 rounds, on 423 and 421 points. Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi GP season finale from pole position last Sunday to close out the season with the most wins (8), but it was not enough to lift the title.
Attentions at Red Bull quickly turned to what the future had in store for Marko in his role as their motorsport adviser after the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi. And Red Bull confirmed that Marko is leaving the team after 20 years on Tuesday, with his role now set to be left unfilled.
Leaving Red Bull brings Helmut Marko ‘relief’ as he doesn’t have to fly around the world
Marko realised that it was the “right time” for him to leave Red Bull when he consoled race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase on the pit wall after Verstappen’s victory in the Abu Dhabi GP. Lambiase was highly emotional after the race at Yas Marina as his future is also in question.
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It is claimed that Lambiase will not attend any races in 2026 due to personal reasons, yet he may decide to be Verstappen’s race engineer for another season. Marko, on the other hand, feels “relief” by leaving Red Bull, as he now does not have to fly around the world anymore.
“That was kind of the point where I said this is the right time to stop,” the 82-year-old told sport.de about consoling Lambiase on Red Bull’s pit wall following Sunday’s Abu Dhabi GP.
Marko added: “It’s a total withdrawal. But I might show up at one or two Grand Prix races as a neutral spectator. [It is] a relief that I don’t have to get on some plane again in January.”
Helmut Marko helped Red Bull win eight drivers’ titles and six constructors’ titles
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The 2025 winter break will be one of the shortest off-season periods in F1 history, as the 11 teams – with Cadillac joining the field in 2026 – set to regroup in Barcelona for the first pre-season test on January 26-30. F1 will also stage two pre-season tests in Bahrain in February.
F1 has chosen to stage a behind-closed-doors test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first pre-season test due to the complexities of the 2026 F1 regulations. Next term sees new engine, aerodynamic, chassis and tyre regulations in a major overhaul of the rulebook.
The 2026 season will also feature a joint-record 24 Grand Prix and six F1 Sprint events from March 8 in Australia to Abu Dhabi on December 6. But Marko’s era as Red Bull’s motorsport adviser has come to a close, having helped them to eight drivers’ titles and six teams’ titles.
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