Marko dismisses rumors and keeps the team together: "Everyone wants to work for Verstappen"

In an interview with Kleine Zeitung, Red Bull Racing team advisor Helmut Marko explained why the team is currently so successful, as well as the challenges it faces. The competing teams are actively trying to poach the staff of the constructor's champion, presenting team members with a choice: a big bag of money or working with Max Verstappen.

In the interview, Marko starts with a fact: "Here's another interesting statistic: we have won every race since his death," seemingly overlooking the Brazilian Grand Prix. Nonetheless, the Austrian team has won eighteen of the last nineteen Grands Prix, an unprecedented level of dominance. "This is our most successful season. It's very special that we celebrated our hundredth victory just before Spielberg and that Max Verstappen has matched Ayrton Senna's 41 victories. It's tragic that Dietrich Mateschitz can't experience this anymore, but life goes on, and so it should."

Marko is also confronted with rumors that Daniel Ricciardo is being groomed to replace Sergio Pérez. "That has all been taken out of context. Ricciardo will be testing, but it has little to do with sports," the 80-year-old Austrian dispels the rumors of the cheerful Australian's return. "Pérez has had some good races and some very bad ones. He needs to refocus and deliver the best possible performance. There's no need to dream about world titles."

Battle for top staff

Since the introduction of the budget cap, the budgets of the various teams have leveled out quite a bit, and the fact that three team members at each team are outside the budget cap sometimes leads to bizarre offers. For instance, the team previously announced that Rob Marshall is leaving for McLaren, where he is reportedly going to earn a lot more. "It has never been as extreme as it is now. As far as we're concerned, it's particularly remarkable how the others are doing this with the budget cap by offering twice the salary. They seem to be saving money somewhere else. We can afford to have some people leave; we have a solid foundation with young individuals. We're in a good position, both at the top and bottom of the organization. It doesn't all depend on one person."

Currently, four men seem crucial to Red Bull's success story: Adrian Newey, Christian Horner, Max Verstappen and Marko himself. ALL of these names now have long-term contracts. "That stability sets us apart from the rest: Newey has been with us for seventeen years, Horner for nineteen years, and I've been here even longer. The same goes for a large part of the technical staff. After 2013, we had a difficult period as we were performing well and suddenly woke up during the era of Mercedes dominance. We had to make sure we kept the team together. It's easier when you're successful: everyone wants to work for someone like Verstappen."