Nobody expected the end of the season to feel like this at Red Bull as the team wrapped up the year fighting hard on track. However, another story was unfolding behind the scenes that recently caught the attention of the entire paddock, as Red Bull’s long-time motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, is officially set to leave the company at the end of 2025.
For the first time in a very long time, the senior figure who shaped so much of Red Bull’s driver development program is suddenly on the way out, and the entire F1 world is trying to understand how everything went wrong so quickly.
Helmut Marko and the Significance of His Exit
Marko has been part of Red Bull Racing since the team’s inception in 2005. To many fans, he was not just an advisor but the architect behind the aggressive driver selection strategy that helped build the team into a championship machine. He was the one who handpicked young talents and threw them into F1 faster than most teams even dared to.
Marko also has a strong personal connection with Max Verstappen. He first met the Dutchman when he was just 15 and pushed Red Bull to sign him early. That decision changed F1 history as Verstappen made his debut at 17 and soon became a multiple world champion. Verstappen has never hidden how important Marko has been in his life and has also often called him a second father figure inside the team.
Marko’s style was unique, as he was always blunt with his words, but he delivered results. Hence, Red Bull’s junior academy produced an incredible number of names on the grid. Some thrived, some were dropped suddenly, but it was Marko who built the system that shook fear into young drivers and made Red Bull famous for both opportunity and risk.
Marko’s Contract Chaos That Tipped Everything Over
Rumors online have described a very messy situation, as multiple fan reports on social media indicate that Marko allegedly signed young driver Alex Dunne without approval from the rest of Red Bull’s leadership. Dunne had reportedly left McLaren, believing he had Red Bull’s backing and a possible chance at a future with Racing Bulls in 2026.
However, the problem was costly and straightforward, as the Austrian organization did not want to sign Dunne, and Marko reportedly did it anyway. To rectify the situation, Red Bull had to pay a substantial fee to cancel the deal, which ultimately left Dunne without a contract and a development program.
F1 Fans reacted with frustration, and the situation created enough friction inside the team for Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff to push harder for a reset. Christian Horner had already departed earlier in the year, and Marko’s exit is now the next part of the new leadership phase, where the Austrian giant aims to start fresh.
It is not hard to see why the relationship became unsustainable.
What This Means for Max Verstappen and Red Bull
Any major exit at Red Bull always brings a question about Verstappen’s future, and even more in this situation, since Verstappen has often stood by Marko when public pressure mounted, even during the controversial scenario with Horner.
However, this is where the bigger picture matters, as Verstappen has a contract until 2028 and has made it very clear that performance is everything. If Red Bull builds a fast car under the new 2026 regulations, Verstappen will stay; otherwise, he will look elsewhere.
Red Bull ended the season showing serious speed and nearly stole the championship back from McLaren. If that energy carries into 2026, Verstappen will continue, with Marko’s exit unlikely to do anything about it.
It is just another turning point for the Austrian team, and with regulations changing in 2026, Red Bull now has to prove on track that the decisions made off track were the right ones.
