Helmut Marko has rubbished Christian Horner's claim that Red Bull could be interested in an out-of-contract George Russell.
Although Max Verstappen has a contract until 2028, the long-term future of the Dutchman is in doubt, with Mercedes' Toto Wolff keen to lure the world champion from Milton Keynes to Brackley.
Wolff accepted this would not happen for 2025 and promoted Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton. For the first year of the new technical rules in '26, Verstappen to Mercedes is a possibility, with either Russell or Antonelli making way should that happen.
Russell's current Mercedes deal runs out at the end of 2025, a situation team principal Horner noted in Singapore, saying Red Bull could be interested in talks with the British driver.
Motorsport advisor Marko, however, has shut down that idea, believing Red Bull should focus on its eco-system of drivers, with Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad all hoping for a chance in the senior team in the future.
"George Russell is on a par with [Lewis] Hamilton in qualifying, if not faster," Marko told Formel1.de.
"But Russell is Mercedes-Benz-affiliated, and now we are focusing on our juniors.
"Let's see what our juniors, or even Yuki Tsunoda can do. He can also be described as a junior, but how does he compare to Lawson?"
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Marko on other junior drivers
Marko also addressed the rise of young drivers in F1, with the successes of Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman this season. He had warm words for Argentine Colapinto especially, who was drafted in at Williams ahead of the Italian GP to replace Logan Sargeant.
"[Franco] Colapinto, for example, he was relatively inexperienced and not very successful in the junior series, although it has to be said that he never had the best teams, but what an incredible performance he is putting in now," Marko noted.
"He is definitely someone for the future. What he showed in Baku (finishing eighth) and in Singapore was very, very good. But I gave that as an example.
"You could also mention Bearman, who shows that juniors from Formula 2 have the potential to impress in Formula 1.
"Therefore, contrary to the past, as a top team you don't necessarily need drivers that already have three or five years' worth of experience."
Also interesting:
In a very special episode of the RacingNews365 podcast, lead editor Ian Parkes and Nick Golding are joined by three-time F1 world champion Sir Jackie Stewart. The current F1 season, the sport's safety and Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari are leading talking points.
If you'd rather watch than listen - the video is available here!
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