Red Bull Racing chief advisor Helmut Marko has never been one to keep his opinions to himself, but they may have already backfired going into the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Marko gave his verdict on every driver starting their first full F1 season this year.
Within his assessments, he suggested that new Sauber driver and Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto was only a ‘B-class’ driver.
Bortoleto’s fans were furious with Marko and the young Brazilian used his comments to motivate himself and beat new teammate Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying in Australia by reaching Q2.
Bortoleto knocked out ‘A-class’ rookies Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Oliver Bearman (Haas) and Liam Lawson (Red Bull) in the process to immediately prove Marko wrong.
Before the start of Sunday’s race, Martin Brundle was asked about Marko’s interview on Sky Sports F1 (16/3 3:03 am) and provided his verdict.
It’s safe to say that his response was eerily accurate after watching the frenetic events of the race unfold.
Martin Brundle hits back at Helmut Marko over Gabriel Bortoleto ‘B-class’ driver comments
Brundle was discussing this season’s rookies and talking about Bortoleto outqualifying Hulkenberg ahead of Sunday’s race.
He said: “Yeah, he seems very mature, and he’s coming off the back of winning F3 and F2 and we know there a lot of great drivers who have done that like Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, for example.
“I think he’s going to be quite a star of the future, this young Brazilian, and he’s showed well straight away.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto? Everything you need to know
Simon Lazenby replied to Brundle’s comments and said: “Not bad for [a] B-class driver as Dr. Helmut Marko was saying, eh?”
Brundle didn’t seem impressed when he was reminded of Marko’s comments and retorted: “Yeah, exactly.
“I think Helmut Marko needs to worry more about commenting on his own drivers than other people’s.”
It turned out that Brundle was completely right and Marko has some issues he’s got to work out within the Red Bull group before he starts looking at the rest of the grid.
Australian Grand Prix proved to be a disaster for Formula 1’s rookies
Marko will be keeping a close eye on Lawson and Isack Hadjar this season after playing his part in both drivers being promoted over the winter.
Hadjar called his Australian Grand Prix performance embarrassing after failing to navigate the treacherous conditions during the formation lap.
Ted Kravitz noticed Hadjar looking nervous before the race and that uncertainty may have played a part in his race-ending mistake.
Lawson had a poor race as well and he and Bortoleto crashed on the same lap when the final downpour of the race started, although the New Zealander was never in contention to score points after starting P18.
READ MORE: Who is Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko? Everything to know
It would be interesting to know what Sergio Perez thought of Lawson’s performance after his struggles last season.
When the likes of Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso are also making mistakes, the rookies can be given a little bit of slack.
But the irony won’t be lost on many of Bortoleto’s fans that the two drivers Marko should really be concentrating on suffered exactly the same fate he did during the race.
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