Marko reveals Mateschitz's reaction to 2014 Verstappen deal proposal

When Max Verstappen was 16 years old, he got confirmation from Helmut Marko: he would debut in Formula 1 a year later at the then Toro Rosso. Not just anything and so the adviser did need permission from Dietrich Mateschitz, the Red Bull owner who died in 2022. Marko recounts the conversation he had with 'Didi'.

It was not a very long conversation between the two Austrians. "Here we have a 16-year-old, for me he is a talent that comes along once every few decades, let's put him in the car," Marko recalled at Sky what he said to his friend at the time. Mateschitz trusted him blindly. "Yes, right. We'll do that."

According to Marko, the conversation lasted less than 10 minutes. The two could read and write with each other and so Mateschitz's recent death also weighed heavily on the 80-year-old top man. "He had a positive attitude, could think five or 10 years ahead. There was always encouragement on his part, but he could also scold. You were not allowed to make the same mistake twice."

Tens of millions invested

Mateschitz was also the major force (and major backer) behind Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri. He was keen to give young, talented drivers the chance to realise their dream of driving Formula 1. So it was no coincidence that the future of Red Bull Racing's sister team was briefly uncertain early this season following Mateschitz's death.

"Didi knew that motorsport was incredibly expensive. We were relatively generous in supporting drivers in different classes. Suddenly we had two Formula 1 teams. Then the requirements became different. They had to be able to win at least [in the future] a Grand Prix. Performance was the deciding factor," Marko said, summing up Mateschitz's (and his own) approach. "We don't buy stars, we make stars, relatively arrogantly speaking. And that worked."