Marko explains difference between Red Bull junior team and Mercedes/Renault

Both Red Bull Racing and sister team AlphaTauri seem to have sealed a strong driver line up this year. With the experienced Perez alongside Verstappen and the speedy rookie Yuki Tsunoda accompanied by Pierre Gasly, Helmut Marko is therefore very happy. However, these seats seem to be highly coveted by the drivers in Red Bull's junior programme, a fact that Helmut Marko recently explained.

Asked about Formula 2 Red Bull driver Jehan Daruvala's chances of a Formula 1 seat, Marko makes the comparison with Tsunoda, whose ascent to the premier class of motorsport seemed to come like a bolt of lightning. Nevertheless, the Austrian expects consistent performance before the promotion of a Red Bull youngster is on the table as an option.

Marko explains, in conversation with Outlook India: "It is the same story (with Yuki),  he did well in one race. We say: 'Let's talk in autumn, let's talk in September.' We are realistic. There has to be performance over a period of time.""

Marko also explained why AlphaTauri is being used as a stepping stone to Red Bull, a strategy the team boss still believes is a good idea: "You cannot put someone like Yuki in a Red Bull car straight away, he is not experienced enough for the job. You needed an experienced driver and we only had another experienced driver in Gasly who was needed as the team leader at Alpha Tauri."

The junior team produces winners

"We are the only that junior team which produced a world champion, which produced Grand Prix winners", Marko continued. The formula for success? The Austrian knows this too: "There must be a will to succeed and must be some personality but everybody is different. We don't model drivers on a scheme. We try to see individuals. … The programs at Renault or Mercedes are not as successful. The drivers  are human beings and they all are different and that is what we like."