Marko cites reason for Newey departure: 'Wanted a new challenge after that'

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Helmut Marko surprised by F1 teams snatching Red Bull chiefs
8 October at 10:00
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  • Nicole Mulder

Helmut Marko believes the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz may have been a major reason behind Adrian Newey's decision to leave their team and join Aston Martin. However, Red Bull's external advisor also thinks there is another factor behind Newey and other important personnel leaving.

Marko: 'Newey departure partly due to changes after Mateschitz's death'

Marko believes Mateschitz's death in October 2022 'brought a certain change' within the Austrian F1 team. According to Marko, that happened partly because under the Austrian's leadership, decisions were made in a short amount of time. "He was a charismatic entrepreneur who had a great vision and was also willing to take risks in the team," Marko told ORF.

"After his death, everything in the company had to be organised differently, because you don't find such an individual personality anymore and he can't be replaced by one person," Marko continued.

Moreover, the advisor also thinks some of the important leaders leaving could partially traced back to the changes made after Mateschitz's death. "Especially in the case of Newey, I think that's why he decided to look for a new challenge."

Marko surprised by money F1 teams are offering

Not only the British master designer, Adrian Newey is leaving, but sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will also have a new challenge ahead of him at Audi, where he will become the team principal. Earlier, Rob Marshall (McLaren) and Dan Fallows (Aston Martin) also left.

"If you win - and we have won the last three years and dominated in 2023 - then of course your staff are coveted by other teams. That's a common game in Formula 1," Marko explained.

However, the 81-year-old Austrian is surprised by the money involved. "We always struggle with the cost cap, but these employees are often offered double or more by other teams. As a result, we could not keep some of them," continued Marko.

"They were part of the team, of the success. It really hurts. But if it's for financial reasons or career reasons - if we can't offer the same as the competition, it's no different," the Austrian concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi


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