Helmut Marko addresses fierce Red Bull rumours as sack plea issued – F1 news round-up

Editor 17 Oct 2023 10:00 PM

Helmut Marko and Sergio Perez — Helmut Marko has often criticised Sergio Perez.

Helmut Marko has hit back at suggestions he and Christian Horner are at war while one ex team boss wants the Austrian gone.

A report emerged from Brazil over the weekend that Horner and Marko were at odds with each other with a meeting at Red Bull towers scheduled for this week.

That though has been rubbished by Marko who insists he will decide when he leaves.

Helmut Marko denies Red Bull rift

Following Marko’s comments regarding Sergio Perez, it was reported that the 80-year-old was the target of a coup led by Horner which hoped to see the back of him. But according to Marko, that could not be further from the truth.

“Contrary to many assumptions I have to disappoint the, as they say, doomsayers. There is no summit this week,” he told OE24. “I have a contract until the end of next year. When and how I stop, when it’s over, I decide and not, for example, Mr. Horner.”

‘Useless and destructive’ Marko should go

But one man who most definitely would like to see the back of Marko is one of his former colleagues Joan Villadelprat.

The Spaniard labelled Marko as “useless and destructive” in a tirade against someone he once worked alongside.

“夺走f * *的赫尔穆特·马克王团队,“Villadelprat bluntly said, when asked by PlanetF1.com about Perez’s struggles.

“Every time he opens his mouth, the only thing he’s doing is hammering.

“It’s an area that you don’t need to talk about because, if things don’t go well and things are tough for a driver, you don’t need somebody telling you that you’re useless.

Mercedes set for big upgrades in Austin

Away from the Red Bull drama, Mercedes are preparing for what they hope could be a monumental upgrade to the W14.

They are bringing a new floor to Austin and while it may not drastically improve the W14, Mercedes are hoping it will provide a base on which to build for the 2024 season.

Mercedes chief reacts to Lewis Hamilton complaints

Speaking of Mercedes, technical director James Allison has been talking about what it has been like to hear Hamilton air his frustrations in public.

The Mercedes driver has frequently said to the media what he does not like about the car and Allison admitted that has been both a help and a hindrance to the team.

“I think that drivers sometimes conflate identifying a problem with knowing what the solution is,” the 55-year-old said. “Where it’s a massive help is the accurate description of what is difficult about extracting lap time from the car.

“If they can say ‘here it is letting me down because the front axle is too weak, here it’s letting me down because the rear axle is too weak. Here, it just feels bizarre and I don’t trust it’ that’s ever so helpful because you can have a million pressure sensors on the car, loads of load cells, accelerometers up the ying yang, but ultimately, those are a little bit sort of stunted in their ability to tell you truly what the car is doing.

“If a driver says ‘the car’s lacking rear downforce, bang, I’ve solved it, go to the rear downforce shop, get me some downforce’ then that’s the point where it becomes slightly less helpful.”

Alpine add more big-name investors

你可能没有希望看到泰勒斯威夫特的name on an F1 site but she now has a, somewhat tenuous, connection to the sport.

Her current romantic partner and NFL tight end Travis Kelce is one of a number of high-profile athletes to join the consortium that own 24% of the Alpine team.

That chunk was sold off to a group of investors, including Hollywood actors and Wrexham FC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, in June and now athletes such as Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Rory McIlroy and Trent Alexander-Arnold have joined the group.

Helmut Marko Red Bull