Helmut Marko Wants An End To Horner ‘Turbulence’

Red Bull has officially announced that its team principal, Christian Horner, will be present at the unveiling of their 2024 car on Thursday.

According to a statement released by the prominent Formula 1 team, the event, which will be broadcast live from Milton-Keynes, will include Horner alongside the team’s drivers.

The launch event, which will also see Dr Helmut Marko in attendance, is set against the backdrop of speculation that Red Bull’s Austrian sector may be implicated in efforts to remove Horner. However, both will be present to introduce the car that Max Verstappen will drive in hopes of securing a fourth consecutive drivers’ championship.

The 50-year-old Horner is currently under investigation by Red Bull Racing’s parent company over allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” with an employee. Meanwhile, Horner’s ally Bernie Ecclestone has expressed suspicion that there are those within the organization who “want to overthrow him”.

When asked to finally comment on the saga involving Horner, including how much it has disrupted preparations for the season, 80-year-old Marko told Osterreich newspaper: “I can’t tell you that or anything else on this topic.

“As long as the investigation is ongoing or there is no result, you will not hear anything from me. This is an ongoing process,” said Marko, whose supposed power struggle with Horner already dates back several months.

“I hope that we can quickly get our turbulence under control,” the Austrian insisted. “Luckily our car is ready and we are well prepared.”

Instead, Marko turns his attention to Lewis Hamilton’s shock 2025 switch to Ferrari, describing it as a “weakening for Mercedes”.

“It completely surprised me, too,” he said. “I wonder how it happened.

“Mercedes was overtaken by Ferrari in the second half of 2023, and McLaren was also faster. Perhaps Hamilton noticed something that the outside world does not yet know about,” added Marko.

“It doesn’t change anything for us, except that I see it as a weakening of Mercedes. Whether it will strengthen Ferrari remains to be seen.

“Overall, it has an incredible impact, right down to the stock market prices. It’s great that something is happening.”

Marko suspects Hamilton’s impending departure could be a major disruption for Mercedes.

“Normally, in a situation like this, your mind is already more focused on the new team. The current team then cannot let him take part in any serious innovations because he would of course take them with him.

“The whole thing is excellent for the sport,” Marko said, smiling: “Better than Netflix.”

As for how Verstappen reacted to the Hamilton bombshell, he smiled again: “He was just amused.”