Marko firmly dismisses Horner departure rumour: 'Complete nonsense'

Rumours had been circulating that the Brit could lose his job if the updates in Imola did not work, with a rumour suggesting that he could be on the move for Oliver Oakes after he left Alpine. However, that turned out to be false.

Red Bull Racing will be bringing potentially season-defining updates to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend, hopefully changing the troublesome RB21 as they look to claw back the major advantage McLaren and Oscar Piastri have at the top of their respective championships.

Ahead of the racing weekend in Imola, Marko was asked about the rumour that Horner could lose his position if things did not go well at Red Bull after the new updates.

"That's complete nonsense," the 81-year-old abruptly said while speaking to Krone Zeitung.

"Apparently, someone is trying to make themselves important again. For us, everything remains the same," he continued.

The updates that will be brought to the first European race of the 2025 season will potentially see the Austrian team back fighting near the front of the grid, although Max Verstappen was reluctant to say anything about them while speaking at the Miami Grand Prix last time out.

Even with these changes coming to the RB21, Marko does not expect too much to change.

"That's overrated. There are incremental improvements, but you can't expect us to suddenly have a winning car again. McLaren manages to keep the tire temperature within a very favourable window.

"In Miami, we were seven-tenths to a full second behind. The new regulations for the wings, which will be effective from Barcelona, give us more hope that something will change," Marko concluded by talking about the upcoming adjustments for the weekend.