Marko headed up driver development at Red Bull for over 20 years, and is credited with bringing the likes of Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz into F1.

In December, it was announced the 82-year-old would be leaving Red Bull at the end of the 2025 season, but that hasn't stopped the Austrian from still playing a role at the Milton Keynes team, according to Mekies.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Mekies said Red Bull team members, including drivers, remain in frequent contact with Marko, receiving "guidance" from the former advisor, known for his early morning phone calls to young drivers.

Specifically, Mekies was asked how different Red Bull's young driver programme is without Marko, before the Frenchman revealed his continuing influence.

Mekies said: "I'm pretty sure they are still talking, maybe not at 7:00am, but maybe a bit later in the day.

The Red Bull boss then explained Marko's 20-year influence on the team too great to easily move on from, adding that he is "behind the corners if we need him."

Prior to the start of the season, Verstappen revealed that he had in fact been in conversation with Marko in the build up to a new era for Red Bull.

"There will maybe be a few fewer Austrian-sided jokes from Helmut!" the Dutchman joked to GPblog and others in Melbourne.