What Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has been doing over the Formula 1 summer break

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Red Bull Racing entered the summer break knowing they had an incredibly important decision to make regarding their driver line-up.

They currently lead the Constructors’ Championship by 42 points and Max Verstappen has a commanding lead in the driver’s standings.

However, it’s not been plain sailing for Christian Horner’s team and Sergio Perez’s form has been a serious cause for concern.

The Mexican driver is in real danger of costing Red Bull the championship this year with McLaren rapidly closing the gap and Mercedes and Ferrari in hot pursuit as well.

Verstappen would have won the Constructors’ Championship on his own last year but that won’t be the case this time around having failed to win any of the last four races.

One of the key people involved in deciding to retain Perez beyond the summer break was Helmut Marko.

Marko’s power within Red Bull increased when he signed a new deal keeping him with Red Bull beyond this season and making it harder for Verstappen to move on amid interest from Mercedes.

Speaking on the Nailing The Apex Podcast, journalist Ben Hunt shared an update on what Marko has been doing during the summer break with teams banned from working on their cars.

Marko’s role within the team is to develop Red Bull’s young drivers and there are plenty of racers in their fold that need mentoring.

Daniel Ricciardo will tell you Marko’s not always the easiest man to deal with, but it’s hard to argue with his record.

What Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has been doing during the F1 summer break

Talking about Marko’s role in the team, Hunt said: “He was the man on the ground that would feed the information back to Dietrich Mateschitz the owner of Red Bull and telling him where he felt that the business was going and give the feedback.

“Ultimately, he would make a decision as well about which driver went where and he’s been assimilated into Red Bull Racing just by virtue of him always being there and going to every race.

“Of course, now he’s got that strong relationship with the Verstappens so he’s still very much an integral part of the operation.

“He’s currently in Jerez at the moment for young driver tests.

“So, most people are on holiday but he’s still working within his role developing young talent.

“It hasn’t stopped, he’s still the man on the ground and you could be forgiven for having the summer off, but no he’s still working.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Helmut Marko has earmarked three youngsters to reach Formula 1 one day

It’s not a surprise to hear that Marko is still working hard behind the scenes despite Formula 1’s summer break being in full force.

Every junior series of racing is littered with Red Bull liveried cars including Formula 2 and Formula 3.

Marko has been harsh on Perez recently and while he’s going to be on the grid at the Dutch Grand Prix, his future beyond this season is far from assured.

However, that could open up a spot in F1 for one of Red Bull’s most talented youngsters, with Liam Lawson at the front of that queue.

Aside from Lawson, Marko thinks two more Red Bull youngsters have Formula 1 pedigree.

The first is current F2 championship leader Isack Hadjar who will be hoping to step up into the Formula 1 set-up in 2025.

The other is British teenager Arvid Lindblad who is having a brilliant rookie F3 campaign and looks like a prime candidate for an F2 seat next year.