Red Bull’s Helmut Marko doesn’t mind telling parents to stop wasting their money on their sons

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has siad that he’s the first one to tell parents if they are wasting money on their kid’s racing career.

The Red Bull advisor has been notorious for his blunt nature and straight talk in the paddock. He’s also responsible for scouting young drivers and grooming them to the top. Marko has been responsible for the success of the Red Bull junior driver academy that has introduced copious amounts of talent to the F1 grid.

In his approach to picking up young talents, Marko has been notorious for his blunt style. That sometimes includes the parents of young kids whose racing careers are family-funded. In such cases, if the Red Bull advisor sees someone who he does not feel would be able to make it, he tells the parents likewise. He elaborated about that on Road and Track:

“In motor racing, there is always an excuse for not winning—the engine, the tyres, the chassis and so on. Unfortunately, a lot of drivers are supported by parents who spend a lot of money, sometimes more money than they have, just to fulfill the dreams of raising a son who is a famous race-car driver. It’s my obligation to tell them when they should go in a different direction and stop wasting money. We make championships possible. Of course there is a lot of pressure. But if you can’t stand pressure, racing is the wrong business for you.”

Red Bull advisor: You have to recognize there is someone who is special

Helmut Marko has also been in the middle of a storm where he was responsible for getting Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s teammate.

Marko was also responsible for dropping young and very impressive drivers like Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon. Marko talked about how he has the tough talk with Verstappen’s teammates sometimes to let them know that they don’t have to beat the Dutch driver. He said:

“At some stage, you have to recognize there is someone who is special and it’s just not possible to beat him. It’s my job to make them understand that. Is that cruel? I don’t think so. To have Max as a team-mate is not a nice part of your career.”

Verstappen had Pierre Gasly as his teammate in 2019. He was removed from the team and demoted back to Torro Rosso after half a season. Gasly was replaced by Alex Albon, but he was also replaced for the 2021 season.

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