Helmut Marko is not happy with the way Honda approached their return to Formula 1. The Japanese engine supplier recently announced a partnership with Aston Martin starting in 2026. However, if Honda had made a decision earlier, Red Bull Racing could have been their partner.
Marko shares his dissatisfaction with this situation with OE24. "We had already discussed a collaboration last autumn. It was clear then that they would come back. If they had committed earlier, it would have saved us a lot of money, effort, and work. This constant back and forth is annoying," said the motorsport chief of Red Bull, which now has Ford as a power unit partner for 2026 - as well as a power unit facility.
For now, the Austrian is focused on the Monaco Grand Prix, where Red Bull doesn't seem to be the absolute favorite. "If you look at it logically, everything speaks in favor of Ferrari," Marko asserts. "They are better than us in the slow corners, they warm up the tires faster, which plays a crucial role in qualifying. We all know how important pole position is here."
According to the eighty-year-old, Charles Leclerc has the greatest chance of success, although the Monegasque has had a lot of bad luck over the years. For instance, he couldn't start in 2021 due to damage he sustained in qualifying the day before. Last year, Leclerc was disadvantaged by the strategy. "It's hard to imagine something like that happening to them again," Marko is confident in his assessment.
"On the other hand, tire wear is greater for Ferrari, which makes the race exciting," the Austrian continues. He suspects that things will get really interesting when the first driver with a chance of victory pits. Whether this will be someone on the Red Bull team remains to be seen. Nonetheless, Marko believes that it will be a close battle between Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez. "Checo won last year, but this time I see Max on equal footing."