Red Bul chief advisor Helmut Marko has been very vocal ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Some of his comments have not been taken well by fans and pundits.
The Austrian will be hopeful Max Verstappen can defend his drivers’ title in the RB21 this season. The Dutchman is looking to become the second F1 driver to win five championships in a row.
However, Marko has admitted Red Bull are currently behind McLaren after pre-season testing, stating there are two tenths between the team. Verstappen is privately saying the gap is larger after a somewhat disappointing outing in Bahrain.
As well as assessing Red Bull ahead of 2025, Marko has provided some strong ratings of the new rookies joining the grid this year. The 81-year-old labelled Gabriel Bortoleto a ‘B-driver’ as he doubted his ‘absolute final speed’.
Bortoleto hit back at Marko’s comments as the Brazilian hopes he can prove the Red Bull chief wrong at Sauber this season.
While Marko’s verdict on Bortoleto seems harsh, he gave another rookie an even lower rating ahead of 2025.
David Croft hits back at Helmut Marko criticism of ‘class act’ Jack Doohan
Jack Doohan is a driver under immense pressure to keep his place in F1. Despite only making one race start for Alpine (2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix), he is already at risk of losing his seat.
The Enstone-based team have signed Franco Colapinto as a reserve driver on a multi-year deal. The feeling is the Argentine is being lined up to replace Doohan who allegedly has a six-race contract.
Doohan could be out by Miami given the short deal he is said to have – the Aussie will have to perform straight away if he is to stay on longer. Marko does not think Doohan will ‘finish the season’ as he labelled the former Red Bull junior a ‘C-grade driver’.
David Croft has defended Doohan in the past and stressed he deserves his place in F1. The Sky Sports commentator stood up for the 22-year-old during FP2 at the Australian Grand Prix as he responded to Marko’s jibe.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad
“Just on the subject of Jack Doohan. Rated as a ‘C-grade driver’ by Helmut Marko, the head of the Red Bull motorsport programme,” he said.
“Well if he is a C-grade driver, C for me stands for ‘class’ because he’s been a class act over the last few weeks.
With all the speculation of his future, which you don’t need going into your first full season and you don’t deserve either, I think he’s handled it brilliantly well.”
How Jack Doohan is feeling ‘behind the scenes’ at Alpine amid future uncertainty
Flavio Briatore issued a ‘stopwatch’ warning to Doohan ahead of his home race this weekend. The Aussie has limited time to prove himself at Alpine.
Doohan has three races to save his F1 career. Journalist Michael Schmidt says the 22-year-old must be within ‘three tenths’ of teammate Pierre Gasly in that time.
Colapinto is the favourite to replace Doohan but the Enstone-based team also have Paul Aron and Ryo Hirakawa as reserve drivers. Incredibly, Alpine recently added a fourth in F2 talent Kush Maini.
Jolyon Palmer slammed Alpine’s ‘ridiculous’ decision to sign another reserve driver behind Doohan. It must be a ‘horrible’ situation for the Aussie, but he is taking it surprisingly well.
Martin Brundle says Doohan feels calm behind the scenes after speaking to his father Mick Doohan. The 22-year-old seems to be focused on the task ahead and not letting the speculation of his future get to him.
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