Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko did not hold back when reflecting on the team’s sister team AlphaTauri’s disappointing year in the 2022 season. Rumors surrounding the potential sale of the team have taken over the paddock and Marko’s critical comments only add to the same.
Speaking about AlphaTauri’s campaign in the 2022 F1 season, Marko told Auto Motor und Sport that their performance is not acceptable:
“I would say they were beaten below their value. For the potential, technically and financially, the ninth place is not acceptable. They made a lot of mistakes in strategy. The car had too little downforce. At the moment, we are in the process of taking stock and looking at which screws we have to turn.”
He also admitted that there is a need for a change in leadership for AlphaTauri, given their underwhelming performances recently.
“With us, everything stays calm. Initial talks have been held with our new boss, Mr Mintzlaff, and everyone agrees that it wouldn’t make sense to rebuild a successful package like Red Bull Racing. Where there is a need, there is AlphaTauri . This was not satisfactory in the past year.”
Franz Tost is the current team boss for AlphaTauri.
Red Bull’s sister team only managed to secure the ninth position in the constructors’ championship this season, with a disappointing 35 points to their name.
However, Marko previously admitted that Red Bull have no intention of selling the team, emphasizing that from a marketing point of view, AlphaTauri continues to be beneficial (As reported by GPBlog):
‘There is a general commitment from both shareholders that from a marketing point of view, Formula 1 is the strongest instrument, which is not questioned. According to the shareholders, there is no plan to sell AlphaTauri. They want to continue what Didi Mateschitz created as a junior team.”
Red Bull had a “tough year” in 2022, says team boss
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner claims that while statistics from the 2022 F1 season suggest that the team dominated, they had their fair share of struggles. He pointed out that it was especially in the first few stages of the year, where Ferrari were on top of their game, and seemed strong enough to fight for the championship title.
In an official team interview, the Briton praised reigning world champion Max Verstappen for his dominant performance over the course of the season. This ultimately helped the team secure their fifth constructors’ championship title.
“It was a very tough year. When you look at the statistics, it looks like we totally dominated and, in the first half of the season, Ferrari had their chances. They probably had a quicker package. But Max was outstanding throughout the year, particularly in that first helped.”
Speaking to De Limburger, Verstappen pointed out that the toughest race he drove in the season was the Belgian Grand Prix.
“In terms of racing, it was winning at Spa from the midfield. It was really great how everything came together for us there. Our car was perfect. Winning the world title [in Japan] what, of course, the highlight.”
Red Bull ultimately finished the season 205 points ahead of Ferrari, who came second.
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Edited by Akshay Saraswat
