Red Bull are about to pay the price for the big mistake Helmut Marko made just before his exit

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Helmut Marko has left Red Bull following the conclusion of the 2025 season, the team have confirmed. The 82-year-old has been involved with the company’s F1 programme since the start.

Red Bull sports boss Oliver Mintzlaff will take on a bigger role in the racing team, which suggests that Marko won’t be directly replaced.

Marko’s exit isn’t a surprise in light of his age and the stories linking Red Bull legend Sebastian Vettel with his job earlier this year.

However, the Austrian had played a crucial role in deciding the team’s driver line-ups for 2026. Isack Hadjar is replacing Yuki Tsunoda as Max Verstappen’s teammate, while Arvid Lindblad steps up to Racing Bulls.

Helmut Marko has rushed Arvid Lindblad into an F1 seat

Few within Red Bull would have had any qualms about Hadjar’s promotion given his scintillating form at Racing Bulls and Tsunoda’s bleak results. There was more resistance, however, to the idea of promoting Lindblad.

Some at Red Bull doubt that Lindblad is ready for F1, which isn’t a slight on the Briton given that he only turned 18 in August. He only stepped up from karting in 2022.

Juan Pablo Montoya, whose son Sebastian also races in F2, shared the same concerns but said Marko was fast-tracking Lindblad ‘by force’.

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F2 insiders think Lindblad needed a second year in the series to address the weaknesses he displayed in 2025. He only scored two podiums in the last 16 races of the campaign.

Laurent Mekies didn’t want to rush Lindblad but Marko’s opinion clearly held sway. Now Red Bull could pay the price.

Helmut Marko’s departure must herald a new Red Bull

Perhaps Lindblad will prove the sceptics wrong next year. Marko stayed at Red Bull for so long because of his renowned eye for talent, and P6 in the F2 standings certainly shows promise.

But equally, Red Bull could have put Tsunoda back alongside Lawson at Racing Bulls, a line-up that would almost certainly have been effective in the short term. This was a win-win scenario, giving Lindblad more time to develop.

Marko’s hastiness could do lasting damage to a driver who has generated considerable excitement.

He was a notoriously impatient figure, and that philosophy was starting to misfire. His departure gives Red Bull a chance to change their culture, but they haven’t yet taken it.