'It remains a great challenge to find someone like Verstappen'

Helmut Marko is the leader of the Red Bull Junior Team. The Austrian is praised for his eye for talent and has guided many juniors to F1 over the years. How did that start, and why does Marko still enjoy doing it so much?

An idea by Dietrich Mateschitz

Marko has been at the helm of the most successful training programme for drivers heading to Formula 1 for years. Dietrich Mateschitz had a plan to support young drivers on their path to F1. The Red Bull chief had a love for the sport but also saw how expensive it was to reach the top. Marko was appointed to find junior talent that Red Bull could support.

But how did Mateschitz end up with Marko? That is actually simpler than you might expect. "At that time, I was simply the only one at Red Bull who had some experience in motor racing. For many years, I have had various roles as a driver, team owner, and manager. So I did all the stuff. And it's good if you have a routine," Marko said in an exclusive interview with GPblog.

Marko already had a lot of experience as a driver. In 1970, for instance, he won Le Mans 24 Hours in the P 3.0 class, only to cross the line first at Le Mans 24 Hours the following year with Dutchman Gijs van Lennep. Marko also raced in F1, but his racing career ended when a stone hit his eye in the 1972 French Grand Prix.

After his racing career, Marko completed his doctorate in law, after which he returned to the sport. First, as manager of Austrian talents Gerhard Berger and Karl Wendlinger, before setting up his own team RSM Marko for Formula 3 and Formula 3000. In 1999, this was renamed the Red Bull Junior Team, and since 1999 Marko has been scouting talents for the Red Bull programme. First, from a sponsorship programme, then to find race winners for the F1 teams.

Red Bull's talent scout

Now, some 24 years later, Marko is still at it. At 80, he is well past retirement age, but the man from Graz still looks as sharp as ever. He says working with talents keeps him on his toes, gives him something fun to do, and, above all, he enjoys being so involved in F1.

"It's a very nice challenge. And to find someone like Verstappen, his qualifying lap in Monte Carlo. That's so outstanding. There is no limit at the moment. And to work then with someone who had just won half a season in Formula 3, we got so much sh*t thrown at us. [People] suggesting it would be dangerous and criminal. The FIA stood up and changed the whole system because he didn't have a license," Marko added. 

It is precisely finding talents like this and giving them an immediate chance in F1 that makes Marko enjoy his work. After winning four world titles with Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull have another 'big man' with Verstappen. Marko, meanwhile, continues to scout for new talent, and the Red Bull talents of the future are being developed at Milton Keynes. There, Guillaume Rocquelin works with talents to get them ready for F1.