Helmut Marko officially leaves Red Bull ahead of 2026 season

Written by Maham Mir

After mounting speculation regarding Bull advisor Helmut Marko's future following the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it has now been officially confirmed that the 82-year-old will depart the team ahead of the 2026 season.

Helmut Marko will part from Red Bull with immediate effect as he retires from the sport | Credit: Formula One

The Austrian advisor to both racing teams within the Red Bull family has been announced to be leaving the company after 20 years. During his tenure, which began with the senior team’s arrival on the grid in 2005 and with Toro Rosso in 2006, Marko has been responsible for leading the company's young drivers development programme. 

Remarking upon the decision to leave, Marko shared: "I have been involved in motorsport for six decades now, and the past 20-plus years at Red Bull have been an extraordinary and extremely successful journey."

“It has been a wonderful time that I have been able to help shape and share with so many talented people. Everything we have built and achieved together fills me with pride.

“Narrowly missing out on the World Championship this season has moved me deeply and made it clear to me that now is the right moment for me personally to end this very long, intense, and successful chapter.

“I wish the entire team continued success and am convinced that they will be fighting for both world championship titles again next year.“

Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies reacted to Marko's departure, stating: "It is very sad news that Helmut is leaving us. He has been such an integral part of our team and of Red Bull's entire motor racing programme for more than two decades.

"This is therefore the end of a remarkably successful chapter. His departure will leave a void, and we will truly miss him.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude for his unwavering support, not only over the past months, but also during my early days at Scuderia Toro Rosso."

Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff added:"Helmut approached me with the wish to end his role as motorsport advisor at the end of the year. I deeply regret his decision, as he has been an influential figure for more than two decades, and his departure marks the end of an extraordinary era.

"Over more than 20 years, Helmut has earned incomparable merits for our team and the entire Red Bull motorsport family. He played a decisive role in all key strategic decisions that made Red Bull Racing what it is today: a multiple world champion, an engine of innovation, and a cornerstone of international motorsport."

Marko was integral in recruiting young talent to Red Bull | Credit: Formula One

Marko discovered many young talents including four-time world champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen and race winners Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly. Former graduates of the Red Bull junior programme under Marko’s watch also include Carlos Sainz Jr, a four-time Grand Prix winner.

Despite his harsh approaches towards its young drivers, Marko’s success with the programme has continued into 2025 and 2026 as Isack Hadjar is set to join the senior team. Additionally, Arvid Lindblad arrives at Racing Bulls for his F1 promotion in 2026 as the only rookie for the season. 

One part of the former trio at the helm of the senior racing team, Marko is the last to leave the Red Bull family after the departures of former Team Principal Christian Horner and Technical Director Adrian Newey. Together, the three men were responsible for the team's success between 2010 to 2014 and again between 2021 to 2024.

With Marko's departure confirmed by the team, Verstappen's future now hangs in the balance. The four-time world champion has been vocal in the past of how much Marko's presence at the team means to him, especially considering the Austrian’s integral role in Verstappen’s F1 promotion back in 2017.

Verstappen, who once described the advisor as “an important pillar” of Red Bull, was heavily rumoured to be leaving the team during the 2025 season after the Horner scandal and lack of performance in his car. However, it was understood that Marko’s reassurances are what kept the Dutch driver from leaving the team where he has won all four of his World Drivers’ Championship titles. 

With this news, it remains to be seen what kind of an effect Marko’s loss will have on Verstappen’s future decisions. Currently contracted until the end of the 2028 season, Red Bull will undoubtedly have to provide Verstappen with a championship challenging car and prove their operational growth to retain the driver.