Red Bull’s Formula 1 motorsport boss Helmut Marko spoke about the relationship between him and Oliver Mintzlaff and gave the new head of the group a small side swipe.
“It was a relationship with Mateschitz for 30 years,” said Marko in an interview sky about working with the late Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz: “He had a profound knowledge of motorsport.”
An exchange on such a technical level would not exist with Mintzlaff. “You spoke on a completely different level,” says Marko. At the same time, it is almost impossible to build up a similarly close relationship with one another in such a short time: “You can’t have the same relationship after two months. That probably never will be.”
However, the longtime Mateschitz confidante insisted on giving a small dig at Mintzlaff. “I think he’s busy after Manchester anyway,” said Marko of RB Leipzig’s 7-0 defeat in the Champions League against Manchester City.
In the past few weeks there have been rumors about discrepancies between Marko and Mintzlaff. Recently it was heard that the ex-Leipzig boss could imagine selling the sister team AlphaTauri. A plan that Marko is not pursuing. “It’s very clear that AlphaTauri will stay at home,” the 79-year-old clarified.
Formula 1: Helmut Marko teases Oliver Mintzlaff
Mateschitz entered Formula 1 with Red Bull in 2005 and had led the team to the top of the premier class of motorsport within a very short time. Among other things, Sebastian Vettel won four consecutive world championship titles between 2010 and 2013, and Max Verstappen, the current world champion, also comes from Red Bull.
We owe this success primarily to Mateschitz, who was always involved in the processes of the relatively independent Red Bull Racing team. “Didi was a visionary, had emotions. I don’t see that anymore,” says Marko.
