Marko hits back at 'nonsense' Horner speculation

Apr.6 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has slammed reports that he has become increasingly disempowered at Red Bull.

Days ago, the energy drink brand’s well-known Formula 1 advisor was quoted as saying had had nothing to do with the decision last year to re-sign Sergio Perez.

“That wasn’t my decision,” he reportedly said. “I didn’t choose Perez, Christian (Horner) did.”

The Austrian broadcaster ORF asked Marko about it at Suzuka.

“Absolute nonsense!” he declared. “Nobody even knows the journalist.”

It’s been a tumultuous period for the once-dominant team, with a steady performance decline coinciding with high-profile staff departures and political turmoil.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown admits he played his role.

“Of course, our goal is to be as fast as possible ourselves,” he told TechStuff, “but there’s also the strategy of destabilising the opponent.

“If you can unsettle a rival, then it can slow them down while you pick up the pace.”

Red Bull’s latest turmoil has been predominantly driver-related, with first Perez and then Liam Lawson ousted as they were so far behind Max Verstappen.

Indeed, Verstappen was on pole at Suzuka, while Lawson’s replacement Yuki Tsunoda qualified P15 – even behind the man he replaced, Racing Bulls’ Lawson.

“Only Max can do that,” Fernando Alonso enthused about Verstappen’s stellar lap.

Marko, however, said Tsunoda simply made mistakes in qualifying – and should in fact have made it into Q3. “Yuki was only two tenths behind Max in practice,” he said. “We haven’t had that in a long time.

“It can now be understood why we swapped. We are completely satisfied,” Marko added.

According to Verstappen, however, Red Bull still has clear problems. “I have already said that our problem is not with the driver. It’s the car.

“The team decides who they put in the car, and I think that’s all fine, but we have to keep the focus on the problem, and that is the car.”