‘Huge’ Helmut Marko hype overwhelmed F1 driver who lost out on Red Bull seat

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Helmut Marko has overseen the Red Bull driver programme since its inception. While the programme has produced multiple race-winners, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen are at the heart of his legacy.

Vettel spent his first full season in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso in 2008 before graduating to Red Bull. In 2010, just his second year with the team, he became the youngest world champion in F1 history.

The German would go on to another three titles in succession before Lewis Hamilton finally halted his run in 2014. His subsequent move to Ferrari didn’t work out as planned, but he unquestionably goes down as an all-time great.

Around 18 months after Vettel left, Verstappen graduated to Red Bull. The Dutchman has won even more races in their colours (61 vs 38) and is poised to equal his predecessor’s haul of championships this year.

But the Red Bull production line has malfunctioned in recent years. Carlos Sainz left and Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly failed to meet expectations, leading the team to make a rare external hire in Sergio Perez.

Daniel Ricciardo won seven Grands Prix for Red Bull but few expected that he’d return to the family with AlphaTauri in 2023, five years after his initial departure. Again, that pointed to a lack of confidence in their pool of young talent.

Helmut Marko ‘hype’ got to Yuki Tsunoda in early years within Red Bull

Yuki Tsunoda has been one of the standout drivers in Formula 1 this season, but his development has been gradual. This is his fourth year in the sport, but the first where he’s been truly convincing.

Tsunoda spent his first two years alongside the much more experienced Gasly, who outscored him by 85 points to 29 overall. Last year, he faced three different teammates, but only really asserted himself against Nyck de Vries.

In addition, the Japanese driver developed a reputation for furious team radio outbursts. Marko and Christian Horner told him to calm down, and he’s now taken heed.

Speaking on The Race F1 podcast, journalist Ben Anderson reflected on Tsunoda’s early years. He feels that Marko may have been guilty of overhyping him after an impressive F2 campaign where he finished third.

“There was this high aggression,” Anderson said. “There was this huge Marko hype, which I think got to him. And then he was underwhelming.”

Why Christian Horner doesn’t rate Yuki Tsunoda

Martin Brundle dubbed Tsunoda his breakthrough driver of 2024 before the summer break. He’s nearly doubled Ricciardo’s points tally (22 vs 12) and he’s had a clear edge in qualifying too (9-5).

Despite that, Red Bull rejected the chance to promote him as they considered replacing Perez. It came down to a battle between Ricciardo and Liam Lawson.

Logic dictates that he should be at the front of the queue. But Horner doesn’t think Tsunoda has the ‘mental strength’ required to partner Verstappen.

Indeed, even though they’ve held onto him for a while now, it seems they’ve never truly rated the 24-year-old. Tsunoda ‘barely hung onto’ his seat for this year under intense pressure from Lawson.