Formula 1
Red Bull staff being poached is a “natural development” – Marko
Helmut Marko plays down the recent departures of several key team members from Red Bull
Ben Vinel
Edited: Oct 5, 2024, 5:17 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has downplayed the latest developments within the Milton Keynes-based squad, with key staff having been poached by rival teams.
In the last few months, chief technical officer Adrian Newey, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and head of race strategy Will Courtenay have been signed by Aston Martin, Sauber/Audi and McLaren as managing technical partner, team principal and sporting director respectively.
Last year, chief engineering officer Rob Marshall also departed Red Bull to join McLaren, initially as technical director of engineering and design, shortly before taking on the chief designer role.
Following the Courtenay announcement last week, Jos Verstappen bitterly remarked about the brain exodus: “This is what I warned about… It's too many people now [leaving].”
Marko’s point of view very much differs from the Dutchman’s, as shown by his interview with Autosport's sister publication Formel1.de.
When asked whether the power struggle between team principal Christian Horner and himself might be to blame for the situation, Marko replied: “Well, I would say that it's a natural development, when you've been as successful as we have been, that people are poached.
“[Courtenay] had an offer that was significantly more attractive in terms of position and financially, and that was the case for most of the people mentioned.”
Hannah Schmitz, Principal Strategy Engineer at Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The Austrian also clarified that principal strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz would be the one and only candidate to replace Courtenay as head of race strategy.
“We have to stand together and do everything we can to ensure that this world championship is won this year and that we also build successful cars for next year and the year after that, because that's the basis for being able to keep a Max Verstappen,” Marko insisted.
Verstappen’s future at the team is not guaranteed, with Mercedes having considered a move for the three-time world champion before promoting highly-rated junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli to a race seat for 2025. His signing to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton has led team principal Toto Wolff to acknowledge the team should stop flirting with Verstappen.
Meanwhile, strengthened by Newey’s arrival, Aston Martin is now openly courting the Dutch driver, who remains coy about this prospect.
Asked whether Newey could have solved Red Bull’s current predicament, Marko said: “That's an illusory rhetorical question. We have a diverse team, and they have to – and will – solve this.”
Read Also:
Formula 1McLaren’s one-second-a-lap dominance is “alien” to Verstappen - Marko
Formula 1Marko: Verstappen has to be taken seriously on threat to quit F1
Red Bull will however look forward to completing work on its new wind tunnel, with its current model in Bedford no longer up to date.
“A more modern wind tunnel would help,” Marko admitted. “Our wind tunnel is a post-war model that the British army built.
“We are no longer up to date – by a long way. And I hope that in 2026, our new wind tunnel will be up and running.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Why ‘mini-DRS’ will not be Formula 1’s last flexi-wing controversy
Next article Why Verstappen thinks the worst of F1 2024 is behind him
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Ben Vinel
Penalty drops Oscar Piastri out of F1 Mexico GP points
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
18 h
Penalty drops Oscar Piastri out of F1 Mexico GP points
Fred Vasseur reacts to Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc clash: “It’s a matter of respect”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
19 h
Fred Vasseur reacts to Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc clash: “It’s a matter of respect”
Latest news
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 2 h
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
3 h
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe