Marko explains cause of Red Bull power struggle

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has addressed the power shift which is taking place at the Milton Keynes-based team since the death of co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz. 

Since Mateschitz's death in October 2022, Oliver Mintzlaff has become managing director of the Red Bull organisation – one of his responsibilities is the F1 outfit. 

However, despite rumours of a power struggle earlier this season, Marko has insisted that team principal Christian Horner is in charge of how the reigning champions operate. 

As revealed by Marko, though, decisions are still to be made surrounding the F1 team following Mateschitz's passing nearly two years ago.

"The death of Dietrich Mateschitz has of course brought changes," Marko told ORF. "He was an autocrat, decisions were made quickly. He was a charismatic entrepreneur with a certain vision and someone who was willing to take risks.

"Now everything within the organisation is being rearranged, where it is not possible to find such a personality as Mateschitz. As a result, he also cannot be replaced by just one person. 

"In terms of structure, Oliver Mintzlaff is responsible for Formula 1, amongst other things. He also does soccer, cycling and various other things. Operationally, Christian Horner is responsible.

"I would say that the final details have not been finalised yet either, because the system is growing."

Jos Verstappen drama

Earlier this year when rumours of a power struggle between Marko and Horner started, Jos Verstappen publicly offered his thoughts on the situation. 

The father of Max Verstappen was convinced that the situation would disrupt the outfit, comments which Marko reveals were not helpful. 

To silence the former F1 driver, a conversation was held internally with the 52-year-old to ensure everyone was focused on fighting for the titles. 

"Let's put it this way, it didn't help," stated Marko. "But internally we sat down together and said, 'We have to join forces and work together in all areas so we can win this world championship'.

"And also for the future, so that we have a winning car again. Because it's also clear that if we don't give Max Verstappen a car he can win with, then in the long run all those contracts of top drivers have performance-related exit clauses and Max will then start looking at others, provided he's still having fun.

"That's another factor that comes into play. He will drive where the best package is always on offer."