There is no (sports) life after Red Bull: Helmut Marko rules out a return to F1

Helmut Marko’s farewell His exit at the end of last year is for the moment the latest in a long period of revolving doors at Red Bull. The now former manager Helmut Marko is therefore preparing to experience the first season of Formula 1 as a simple observer, albeit with a careful eye on the issues of the Milton Keynes team and on the performances of his protégé Max Verstappen. And perhaps this is also the reason why a return to the paddock seems to be ruled out a priori: after a life in the Anglo-Austrian team, which he himself helped set up more than 20 years ago as a great friend and right-hand man of the founder Dietrich Mateschitz, the 82-year-old former driver is now not eyeing any sensational new job. Enjoying your retirement (finally) Helmut Marko himself admits it, during a long interview given to the Austrian public television ORF, he says he is finally ready to enjoy his retirement: “I’m no longer completely involved in Formula 1, but I still keep myself updated on what’s happening. The nice thing is that I don’t feel any pressure, so I don’t stay up all night with thoughts like ‘What if the engine doesn’t work, or something else doesn’t work?’, and so on. I no longer have that direct responsibility. Obviously I’m interested in Red Bull obtaining the best possible results, but now for me the situation is much more relaxed.” “My return to Formula 1 in another team? It is absolutely out of any discussion, even if sometimes I have received some requests and I have had quite interesting backroom conversations. But in F1 I had success with Red Bull and I want this memory to continue. Nothing else can replace it.” The reference could perhaps be to the recent negotiations, according to some rumors started between 2024 and 2025, at the moment of maximum turbulence inside the Milton Keynes garage, for a sensational transfer of Helmut Marko to the historic rivals of Mercedes, which in Toto Wolff’s intentions would probably also have facilitated a possible future arrival of Max Verstappen.