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Pierre Gasly’s pathway to Formula 1 began at Red Bull, and the Frenchman has just revealed the brutal way in which Helmut Marko put him down before offering him a contract at the junior team.
Before announcing his retirement at the end of the recently concluded 2025 campaign, Helmut Marko was a massively divisive figure within the confines of the F1 paddock.
The former Red Bull advisor is credited with signing some of the biggest talents of F1 in recent years, including Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
But his blunt demeanour often rubbed fans the wrong way as well. Marko’s comments about Kimi Antonelli unleashed a wave of undeserved hate towards the young Italian driver, and the Red Bull chief was thrust into hot water because of it.
- READ MORE: Why the FIA intervened when Helmut Marko tried to replace Pierre Gasly with brand new F1 driver
Will Isack Hadjar suffer the same fate as Pierre Gasly at Red Bull?
Pierre Gasly reveals the brutal conversation he had with Helmut Marko before signing for Red Bull’s junior team
During an appearance on F1’s Off The Grid YouTube series, Pierre Gasly revealed Marko’s brutal put-down of him before the Austrian executive offered him a role in the team’s driver academy.
The former Red Bull driver said, “So it was 2013, and it was a make-or-break season in Formula Renault, and to make it not stressful at all was half a million for the championship winner and zero for the second.
“I think that’s the most pressure I’ve ever felt in my life throughout my whole career. It came down to the last race, racing with Oliver Rowland, who I rate extremely highly.
“He had to win the race, and absolutely sent it. He hit the back of my car, spun me around, but I came back to sixth and won the championship.
“I met Helmut a month later for him to tell me I didn’t win enough races, I didn’t get enough pole positions, I didn’t do enough, and I thought, ‘What am I doing here then?’
“I was just getting hammered. But I went through all of that to finish with a contract in the Red Bull Junior Team. So it was a turning point in my career, a massive opportunity back then.”
In the end, it would be Marko who gave Gasly his marching orders from Red Bull after entering just 12 races for the Milton Keynes-based F1 outfit.
Incredibly, Marko went over the head of Christian Horner to issue the demotion.
- READ MORE: Pierre Gasly reveals what he’s told Yuki Tsunoda to ‘figure out’ as Red Bull plight persists
Which Red Bull driver has been treated most harshly?
Pierre Gasly was the first victim of Max Verstappen’s development influence at Red Bull
Gasly was initially given his drive at Red Bull following the departure of Daniel Ricciardo from the team at the end of the 2018 season.
Unfortunately, the Frenchman was replaced during the summer break, and Alex Albon was given a chance to show what he was made of in his place.
Gasly reportedly had a reputation for being difficult within the ranks of the Milton Keynes outfit, but was arguably hard done by the team through the lack of time that he was given to provide results.
It has since developed into a pattern with Red Bull’s second driver, with Sergio Perez being the only driver since who has lasted more than 18 months with the team.
Yuki Tsunoda was the latest victim of the F1 outfit’s game of musical chairs, and, during the 2025 season, it emerged that Tsunoda was in fact being cast aside as Red Bull engineers favoured Max Verstappen.
Isack Hadjar is the next candidate to be thrust into the spotlight at Red Bull. It remains to be seen whether he will still be there in 2027.
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