Red Bull F1 motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has denied he was ‘silenced’ following last Sunday’s F1 Saudi Grand Prix. In recent weeks, there have been rumors of trouble behind the scenes at Red Bull’s top management, notably with Marko working with Oliver Mintzlaff, who replaced the late Dietrich Mateschitz as CEO.
Austrian broadcaster ORF reported that following the race in Jeddah, the Red Bull press office prevented Marko from giving his usual post-race interview. “Don’t worry,” Marko, 79, told Osterreich. ‘I always say what I think’ Helmut Marko’s rumored ‘shutdown’ teased Mintzlaff overseeing Red Bull’s RB Leipzig’s 7-0 defeat to Manchester City presumed to be later. “That was exaggerated in Germany,” Marko claims. “I have a very good relationship with Mr. Mintzlaff. We exchange opinions on a regular basis,” he said. “But I always have a desire to remain independent.” The Austrian also denied rumors that he boycotted the post-session debriefing out of rage over a driveshaft failure following qualifying. “Max had just recovered from a bad cold,” Marco claims. “Did you see the look on his face when he got out of the car? It wasn’t very good for him.” “He wanted to go to bed as soon as possible.” It is also true that tensions are continuing as teams face off over the drivers’ title for 2019. Verstappen, for example, might be said to have ignored the team’s instructions not to record the fastest lap of the race. “Both of them followed the instructions more or less,” Marko said. “Five laps before the end, they were told they might go full speed. Czech is a good tactician and he tried to set the fastest lap, but he made a mistake in the first sector and that was it. “But with two top drivers, we have to try to get as far forward as possible before the wind tunnel penalty comes into play.” He criticized the FIA, which played a farce that went up and down. “Jack’s incident happened on lap 20,” Marko said. “To finish a race, have a ceremony, and then have a 10-second penalty, it’s ridiculous.”
