How Marko played a major role in Verstappen and Horner's lives early on

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Helmut Marko s promising career as a Formula One driver, which was cut short by a tragic accident in which he lost his left eye. After this, the now 79-year-old Austrian found his calling in management, in which he proved to be very successful. How did Marko reach the top of motorsport after all, and what has he done for the success of Red Bull Racing?

For some, it is hard to imagine, but Marko once worked as a successful racing driver. His successes were mainly in endurance racing, where he twice won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1970, he did so together with Austrian Rudi Lins, and the following year he won the prestigious race together with Gijs van Lennep.

Marko as a Formula One driver

In 1972, Marko made his debut as a Formula One driver, but his career in the premier class of motorsport was short-lived. In July 1972, the Austrian was hit in the eye by a stone launched by the car in front of him at the French Grand Prix and the accident cut short his career as a racing driver. You can read all about that fateful day here.

Marko is known for his demanding nature when it comes to his drivers, and the reason why is reflected in his own life history. He earned his law degree in 1967, but at the same time he was working hard to become a racing driver. That dream came to an end in 1972, but the then young man from Graz did not give up and set his sights on a career in management in the same sport in which he hoped to become successful as a racing driver.

Marko as a manager

He became the manager of Gerhard Berger, Karl Wendlinger and others and bought two hotels in Graz. Marko proved to be a good manager, especially in motor racing, and in 1989 he founded his own team that competed in several racing classes. The team would eventually be renamed Red Bull Junior Team in collaboration with Dietrich Mateschitz, co-founder of energy drink manufacturer Red Bull. In 2004 Mateschitz announced he had bought the Jaguar F1 team and the Red Bull Racing Formula One team was born.

Verstappen: 'Marko is like a second father to me'

The rest, of course, is history. After four championships in a row with Sebastian Vettel, the next big thing for the team came with Max Verstappen, who in turn can be seen as one of Marko's great successes. After all, it was he who decided to bring the then 17-year-old Dutchman from Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing.

The switch to Red Bull Racing was the moment for Jos Verstappen to let go of his son. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko took Max under their wing and he has come to regard the duo as a sort of second family. "I get on very well with Helmut," Verstappen says in conversation with ServusTV. "He is always very honest and open. He's a bit like a second father to me. I went through something similar with my father of course, in the time before I drove Formula 1. From my time at Red Bull, my father faded into the background a bit more and Helmut came into the picture more."

Horner bought his first trailer from Marko

Horner, who has been team boss of Red Bull Racing since its early days in 2005 and will remain in that role for the next few years, has a long history with Marko. The pair have known each other since Formula 3000, where Horner was an active driver until he decided to set up his own team called Arden. To do so, he bought a second-hand trailer from none other than Helmut Marko, and it was in this capacity that the two first met.

"It turned out that this Austrian fella was selling a trailer, so I went to Graz, saw this trailer and met Helmut," Horner told the High Performance Podcast. "I didn’t have a clue who he was, he seemed like a pretty straightforward kind of guy." The Briton had to borrow a sum of money from his father to buy the trailer, but the transaction was the start of a very successful partnership.

Horner proved successful in his role as team principal and was appointed team principal at Red Bull Racing in 2005, on Marko's recommendation. At 31, he became the youngest F1 team boss ever, but Marko and Mateschitz were not afraid to give young talent a chance. "You’ve seen it with the junior programme, across the football academies and all the sports that they [Red Bull] are in," Horner said.

Marko: 'Something great came out of working with Horner'

The fact that Marko and Horner have worked well together for so long is in part due to their attitudes, which Marko believes are well aligned. "Together we determine the direction of the team and also that of our employees. On political issues we usually speak the same language and I think our success proves that we are right," the Austrian told ServusTV of his colleague. "I already knew him from Formula 3000 and other junior classes and knew of his ambitions and abilities. Now something great has come out of that."