Verstappen responds to Marko's possible departure: 'I told the team that'

Qualifying in Saudi Arabia was barely over when another proverbial bomb went off inside Red Bull Racing. Helmut Marko is suspected of leaking confidential information about Christian Horner and could possibly be suspended by Red Bull. In any case, the external consultant himself is leaning towards a farewell to the team he helped make great.

After qualifying, Max Verstappen commented on the possible farewell of his mentor. "From my side, I have a lot of respect for Helmut and what we have achieved together. It goes very far, and of course, my loyalty to him is very big, and also I've always expressed this to everyone within the team, to everyone high up, that he's an important part of my decision-making for all the time in the future."

"So it's very important that he stays within the team, including, of course, everyone else, because it's a whole team effort, and it's very important that we keep the key people together. I feel like if such an important pillar falls away, that's also what I've said to the team, that it is not good for my situation as well."

Verstappen wants Marko to stay

Verstappen continued: "For me, Helmut has to stay for sure. He has built this team together with Dietrich from day one and he's always been very loyal to the team, to everyone within the team to make sure that everyone would keep their positions already from back in the day, and I think it's also very important that you give the man a lot of respect for what he has done. I think it's also very important to come back to loyalty and integrity, and as a result, he must stay part of the team for me."