Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull could trigger F1 retirement claims Helmut Marko

Red Bull's senior advisor Helmut Marko has hinted at his retirement from F1, and the reason could be Max Verstappen. In an interview with Motorsport.com, Marko suggested that he could consider leaving Formula 1 if Verstappen parts ways with the team in the future.

The 81-year-old motorsport advisor, has transformed Red Bull into a championship-winning team. Under his mentorship, the team unearthed superstars in Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, as both won four world titles each for the Milton Keynes-based squad.

However, his future at Red Bull has been under scrutiny since last year. In 2024, he feared getting fired after team principal Christian Horner's inappropriate behavior investigation reportedly led to internal friction. But Verstappen stood up for him and reportedly threatened to leave if Marko was to be sacked.

Meanwhile, Helmut Marko has once again dropped an interesting comment that suggests his future is indeed linked to Max Verstappen. While talking to Motorsport.com, the senior advisor was asked if he would consider leaving F1 if the Dutch driver left Red Bull.

To this, he replied by stating:

“That could be a good reason, yes.”

But at the same time, Marko also claimed that Red Bull is performing decently well this year and Verstappen has no reason to leave anytime soon.

"The whole team is working on that with full dedication. Of course, every top driver has an exit clause if the performance does not meet a certain standard, but those clauses vary. At the moment there is no problem."

The four-time world champion is reportedly being approached by many teams on the grid. Aston Martin, for instance, allegedly made an offer of $1 billion to lure Verstappen. Moreover, rumors also say that Mercedes is actively involved in the pursuit to sign the Dutchman for the 2026 F1 season.

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Max Verstappen was apparently not in favor of Red Bull firing Liam Lawson

Max Verstappen [L] with Liam Lawson [R] at F1 Grand Prix Of Australia - Source: Getty

Red Bull Racing has changed their drivers lineup twice in four months. First, they sacked Sergio Perez last December to appoint Liam Lawson as his replacement for the 2025 season. However, after just two races this year, Lawson has been demoted to Racing Bulls, with Yuki Tsunoda taking over his seat from the Japanese Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, the team's senior advisor, Helmut Marko, has claimed that Max Verstappen wanted Lawson to stay, as he believed the problem is not in the driver but in the car, as RB21 is too difficult to drive. Talking to Motorsport.com, he said:

"Max stated that the car is very difficult to drive, and if the car were better, Lawson's performance would also improve. Of course, we are working on further development, but at the moment it is difficult to imagine how soon this will come."

Liam Lawson failed to score points in Australia and China this year and he also couldn't advance past Q1 in the qualifying sessions for both races.