08/03/2024
NEWS STORY
There is growing speculation that Helmut Marko is on the verge of being suspended by Red Bull in the latest twist to the Christian Horner saga.
The news comes a day after it was revealed that the female member of staff at the team who accused Horner of inappropriate behaviour has herself been suspended.
Marko, a consultant to the Red Bull teams is not actually employed by either but by the parent company Red Bull GmbH and it is understood that they are to meet with him in the coming days.
"I'll put it this way, it's difficult to judge, or let's put it this way, ultimately, I'll decide for myself what I do," he told Austrian broadcaster ORF, when asked if he feared he is to be suspended. "The theoretical possibility always exists," he added.
"I think it's such a complex issue," he continued. "Again, we want peace in the team. This world championship will be difficult enough with 24 races and we have to concentrate on that."
It is understood that the latest twist to the saga relates to the raft of documents that were released last week after Red Bull said it had concluded its investigation into Horner, a move that caused Jos Verstappen, father of world champion Max, to claim the team could explode unless the Briton was fired.
The move led to speculation that Verstappen himself had released the documents, a move the Dutchman vehemently denies.
F1, the FIA, Ford, rival team bosses and most recently Honda have voiced concern at the way the situation has been handled, and especially the lack of transparency.
"They want a clear statement about what really happened," Marko said of Honda. "But the most important thing is that we get back to the sporting side of things, and that the team concentrates on what is important. That's working quite well at the moment."
Further complicating the issue is the claim that Max has a get-out clause in his contract which would leave him free to quit the Austrian team should Marko leave, the youngster having been recruited to the Austrian's young driver programme in 2014.
Though he refused to comment on the supposed clause, Marko made it clear how important the Dutch driver is to the team.
"Max is certainly the strongest asset that the team has," he said. "There is no faster driver at the moment and if we were to lose him, it would be an incredible loss, because of course there are also an incredible number of mechanics, including engineers, who are all working incredibly hard for Max. I think it's quite logical and clear that Max is the most important part of the team."
"I have a lot of respect for Helmut and what we have achieved together, it goes very far," said Max Verstappen this evening. "Of course, my loyalty to him is very big and I've always expressed this to everyone within the team, everyone high up, that he's an important part in my decision-making for all the time in the future as well within the team.
"It's very important that he stays within the team, including of course everyone else, because you know it's a whole team effort. It's very important that we keep the key people together because I feel like if such an important pillar falls away, that's also what I've said to the team that is not good for my situation as well.
"Helmut has to stay for sure. He has built this team together with Dietrich from day one and he's always been very loyal to the team. I think it's also very important that you give the man a lot of respect for what he has done. And that comes back also to loyalty and integrity. For sure, it's important that he stays part of the team also for me."
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