Helmut Marko has put to bed the “absolute lie” his former colleague Christian Horner accused him of following their stint in Formula 1.
Horner and Marko were two of the most powerful names in F1, as the pair built the Red Bull Racing dynasty. However, in the final seasons of their partnership, their relationship seemed to deteriorate, with the pair continually butting heads on certain issues.
But since their mutual departures from the sport, both Marko and Horner have made their feelings clear on one another. The Austrian explained that working with Horner in the last few seasons was “not pleasant.”
Marko claimed that “filthy games were played” making their jobs harder than it needed to be.
On the other hand, Horner recently explained that in his final stint with the team, he felt as though he “was always mopping up the s***” of the former advisor.
Whilst the pair have gone tit for tat in the media, Marko was seemingly fed up with rumours stemming from Horner’s autobiography Drive.
Horner claims in his book that Marko called Jos Verstappen “a nightmare” when Red Bull first discussed signing his son, Max, and added: “We don’t need this one.”
However, the Austrian has firmly rejected the suggestion, insisting he was the one who pushed for Verstappen’s move to Milton Keynes, despite Horner’s reservations about Verstappen’s age.
“I’m ignoring it as much as possible,” Marko told Austrian outlet OE24 when asked about Horner’s claims.
“Ralf Schumacher handled it very well. I brought Max into Formula 1 and had to stand my ground against Horner at his first race for Red Bull in Barcelona.
“He thought Max was too young, too inexperienced.”
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What Marko refers to are the claims made by former F1 driver Schumacher, who weighed in on the controversy during an appearance on Sky Deutschland’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast, with the German branding Horner’s version of events an “absolute lie”.
According to Schumacher, Marko was the driving force behind Red Bull’s pursuit of Verstappen since the early days of his junior career.
“Marko approached Max when he was just 11-and-a-half years old,” Schumacher highlighted.
“At the time, Jos said it was still too early for him. The doctor, as you know him, was a bit miffed and said: ‘Okay, if you don’t want to, then so be it.’”
Despite differing accounts of the event, Max Verstappen’s signing marked a pivotal moment not only in the team’s history but in the sport more broadly. The Dutchman has since won 72 Grand Prix and claimed four consecutive Drivers’ titles with the Milton Keynes outfit.
But when asked about his former Team Principal, Verstappen gave a frank yet harsh assessment. Claiming the paddock is “less stressful” since Horner’s departure.
“To be honest, I like to see that people get on,” Verstappen explained.
“It is not nice when you constantly have tension between people.”
“Of course, from the outside, people like it. But honestly, between the teams, it is better when you have just a friendly relationship. It is not as spicy. But I obviously quite like how things are going at the moment, with everyone’s behaviour- let’s put it like that.
“It is less stressful. We are all leading a stressful life. And when you can take a bit of stress out of it at times, it is good.”
Red Bull has claimed back-to-back Grand Prix victories with Verstappen, as the team aims to secure third place in the Constructors’ Standings.
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