F1 | Marko: “I talk to Sainz, but we can't cover the Audi offer”

In an interview with the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, Helmut Marko clarified Red Bull's position on a driver market that is taking center stage. The team consultant did not go into the merits of Max Verstappen's position, limiting himself to extolling the contribution that the world champion guarantees to the team.
“He doesn't need a team around him to help him in these situations – reiterated Marko referring to the period of tension that the team went through – he is an exception and he is just 27 years old. There will never be another Verstappen, or at least, I don't see one right now.”

Marko also highlighted the support he received from Max over the weekend in Jeddah, when his position within the team seemed to be in the balance:
“It was really a great sign of loyalty that I absolutely didn't take for granted, especially nowadays.”

2023 seems like a distant memory. A year ago Marko had repeatedly thundered against Sergio Perez due to his lower performance than the team expected, but today the scenario has drastically changed. The renewal for the 2025 season seems to have become possible and even probable.
“It's clear that Checo is having his best season since he's been with us – underlined Marko – if he confirms performances like those in qualifying in Japan, then he will certainly be the best option for Red Bull for 2025. He works a lot with the team and now he has also realized that the radically different path he took last year regarding setup was a mistake. Today his car is closer to Max's set-up and this helps him”.

Marko admitted that he is still in contact with Carlos Sainz…
“We talk to each other, he is having his best season in Formula 1, but he has a very lucrative offer from Audi that we cannot exceed, nor match. We have known Carlos since our days at Toro Rosso, when he was Max's partner, and I remember that it really hurt him when we at Red Bull chose Verstappen and not him.”

Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team

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The door that could have led Daniel Ricciardo back to Red Bull is instead increasingly a crack.
“The challenge for him was to be clearly faster than Yuki – reiterated Marko – this is the condition to be able to aspire to a place in Red Bull. So far it hasn't been like this, in Japan he came close, we'll see, at the moment we've only played four races. Yuki, on the other hand, had an excellent start to the season, he is no longer the 'hot' rider he once was”.

Marko did not go into the merits of a possible replacement between Ricciardo and Liam Lawson, but reiterated that it will be in the team's interest to guarantee the New Zealander a starting place next season.
“With Liam we have a very strong driver at our disposal – concluded Marko – and we know that contractually he will have the right to drive for another team if we do not provide him with a single-seater in 2025. It would obviously be useful for us to be able to see him in Formula 1 over the course of this season, it would help us to have an even clearer picture, but this is a complex topic, we need to see what will happen race after race.”