Helmut Marko handed 'changed the world' praise after historic Red Bull tenure

Former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has been praised for having "changed the world" in motorsport when it comes to finding and developing young talent, according to Sébastien Buemi.

Buemi currently competes in Formula E and the World Endurance Championship, and also serves as a Red Bull simulator driver alongside his competitive commitments.

The Swiss driver raced in Formula 1 for Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso for three seasons from 2009 to 2011, and was among the first drivers to join the Red Bull Junior Team.

He became a Red Bull junior driver in 2004 and received support throughout his junior career, before becoming Red Bull’s test and reserve driver in 2008, a year prior to his move to Toro Rosso.

In Buemi’s view, what Marko has achieved with young talent is something that had never been done before, particularly the level of faith shown in Max Verstappen at just 16 years old.

Buemi believes that without Marko proving what young talent is capable of, Mercedes would not have taken the risk of promoting Kimi Antonelli.

Discussing Marko's exit, Buemi told RacingNews365 during an interview: "I mean, I haven’t spoken to him yet. I was planning on calling him, but yeah, he’s made a lot of decisions, and he’s very much shaped my opinion of what Red Bull and Racing Bulls are now. 

"He’s one of the guys who shaped it properly. I didn’t always agree with his decisions, but I have a lot of respect for what he’s done. 

"He’s done things that nobody had done before—like taking Max and putting him in the car [at 16], or even [Sebastian] Vettel or myself. Bringing drivers in so young was not the norm in the past.

"And when you see what Mercedes has done with Kimi Antonelli, I don’t think they would have done it before if Helmut hadn’t done it with Max. So he’s made decisions that, in my opinion, have changed the world of motorsport a little bit."

Marko the greatest talent seeker

While it has often received criticism for its ruthlessness, Red Bull's junior programme is by far the most successful in motorsport. 

Marko built a powerhouse of a junior system, which has seen its drivers find competitive seats even if an F1 move is not achieved. 

Asked if Marko is the greatest in F1 history to have discovered young talent, Buemi explained: "Yeah. I mean, he obviously had the resources at his disposal, but he also had the stability of being the head of the programme for many, many years, and an amazing overview of talent across all categories.

"He had been doing it for such a long time. And, yes, look at how many people have gone on to win races in F1 or Le Mans who were part of the Red Bull Junior Team. The stability of the programme was one of its strong points.

"You’ve seen junior programmes from Renault, Ferrari, Toyota and Mercedes, but they were there and then stopped. I would say Red Bull has been the most consistent junior programme.

"Maybe it’s because they have two teams in F1, but it’s the most consistent junior programme ever."