Helmut Marko slams Christian Horner over book release timing: “Incomprehensible”

Marko held nothing back about his former colleague in an interview with German broadcaster Sky Sports. The former Red Bull Racing team principal and CEO received a substantial severance package after his dismissal in July 2025. According to Marko, Horner should have taken a different approach to the organisation he had worked for over a 20-year period.

"That's a collection of untruths, I don't even want to get into the level of discourse, Marko said of the book, having previously said that it contains stories he claims are untrue. "Especially after the huge settlement he received, one would have expected some loyalty. And again: it's not my style."

Marko is also troubled by the timing of the book’s release. The autobiography Drive is being released today, Thursday, October 22, exactly four years after the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz. The Austrian businessman played an important role in founding Red Bull Racing and appointing Horner as team principal in 2005.

"I don't think he's even aware that his biography is being published on the exact day Dietrich Mateschitz died," Marko added. "And it fits perfectly with this whole book story. It's all incomprehensible to me." Marko is not the only one to point out this detail, with former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher also expressing his displeasure at the decision to publish the book on the anniversary of Mateschitz’s death.

In his book, Horner accuses Marko of having played a part in his dismissal, despite Horner’s former partner and the mother of his daughter having died of cancer shortly beforehand. Horner also claims that Marko did not even offer his condolences, which the Austrian strongly disputes.

"The only thing I want to clarify is that I even sent him my condolences in writing for his ex-wife, who died of cancer. That's all that matters to me," said Marko, who does not wish to comment further on the book.

The two worked together at Red Bull Racing for more than twenty years, but their relationship deteriorated in the final years of Horner’s tenure as team principal. Horner left the team in July 2025 and was succeeded by Laurent Mekies.