It’s no secret that the relationship between Helmut Marko and Christian Horner has cooled following allegations of sexual misconduct against the Red Bull team boss earlier this year. With a single statement on the eve of the Austrian GP, the consultant seems to be stoking the simmering feud with the Brit, consciously or unconsciously.
There has been a tense peace for months, ever since it emerged earlier this year that a Red Bull employee accused team boss Christian Horner of sexual misconduct. What followed was a weeks-long battle between the Brit, who is backed by the Thai majority shareholder of the energy drink company, and Marko, who can count on the support of Austria-based Red Bull GmbH, which has him under contract as a motorsport consultant.
The feud caused quite a stir at the British racing team, with accusations flying back and forth. Jos Verstappen, father of Max, speculated that Red Bull could potentially ‘fall apart’ due to all the commotion. Design guru Adrian Newey, responsible for the last three championship cars of the bull stable, has already announced his departure. Reportedly, this is partly due to the ‘Horner affair’. The question is whether more key personnel will follow.
Christian Horner Cleared of Accusations, Helmut Marko Nearly Suspended
Christian Horner was cleared of all allegations at the end of February following an internal investigation initiated by Red Bull. On the other hand, Helmut Marko was almost suspended in Saudi Arabia for allegedly ‘leaking to the press’ about the Horner issue. After a conversation with Red Bull GmbH’s CEO Oliver Mintzlaff and a public warning from Max Verstappen that he would tie his fate to that of Marko, the issue was defused. However, this incident highlighted that the racing team is still divided into two camps.
Ricciardo vs Lawson: The Battle for the 2025 Seat
This division seems to extend to the allocation of seats for 2025, both in the parent team Red Bull and the sister team Visa RB. Marko stated this week in the local Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung that Liam Lawson should soon take over Daniel Ricciardo’s place in the training team. According to the advisor, the Australian has had his (second) chance and did not seize it.
“The shareholders have made it clear that Visa RB is a junior team, so we should act accordingly,” Marko believes. “The goal was first to see if Ricciardo could move up to Red Bull. That seat is now for Pérez, so that’s not going to happen. Therefore, we need to deploy a young driver soon. And that is, of course, Liam Lawson.”
With this statement, Marko puts both Ricciardo and Horner, who brought his protégé in last year in favor of Nyck de Vries, under further pressure. The Australian veteran has so far underperformed given his reputation and is often outperformed by teammate Yuki Tsunoda. However, Ricciardo still has the support of Horner. Marko’s suggestion to replace Ricciardo with Lawson is likely to have been received with little enthusiasm by the team boss, sharpening the simmering feud just before the summer break. Whether this is intentional or unintentional remains to be seen.
But in the political arena that is Formula 1, no one usually says anything without a reason or purpose.
