Alpine boss Oliver Oakes shares why he’s got a ‘slightly odd relationship’ with Helmut Marko

Helmut Marko is one of the most prolific characters in Formula 1, having been the manager of the Red Bull young driver programme since the team joined the grid 18 years ago.

The Austrian has been involved with deciding some of their biggest stars, including Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, who both brought title success to the team.

Marko is responsible for scouting the talent at karting level and signing drivers to Red Bull, although the junior programme is known to be ruthless if drivers fail to achieve wins regularly in their career.

Former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat recalled how Marko nearly sacked him, after being pitted against Carlos Sainz during his development.

Several other drivers have passed throughout without success, including Daniel Ricciardo who Red Bull replaced midway through the season with Liam Lawson as the team contemplates whether to axe Sergio Perez.

One driver who also passed through the Red Bull conveyor belt was Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes, having raced under their wings when he competed in Eurocup Formula Renault in 2007. Oakes has recalled the ‘odd relationship’ he had with Marko when speaking on the Beyond the Grid F1 podcast.

Oliver Oakes recalls ‘slightly odd relationship’ with Helmut Marko

Oakes competed on the junior single-seater ladder for five years before stopping in 2010 after a season in the GP3 Series (now F3), and starting his own team venture that eventually morphed into Hietech.

Marko was attracted to his talents after he won the Karting World Championship in 2005 at 17 years old, which saw him pitched into the Red Bull programme alongside Vettel, Brendon Hartley, and Sebastian Buemi.

Despite promise in his early years of Formula Renault Eurocup, a disappointing 2007 season led to him finishing 12th and eventually getting dropped by Red Bull. Oakes recalls what it was like to work with Marko in the early stages of his career.

“I did the Red Bull shootout and I joined the Red Bull Academy for two years. Formula Renault, Formula BMW. I had a tough season, it was my second year of Formula Renault in Eurocup. I guess after that was where it gets difficult because I was then dropped by Helmut, which I can [now] give him a bit of shtick back,” said Oakes.

“On a personal level, he’s been really good to me over the years. It’s slightly odd that I was a junior driver with him and he asked me to go and help him scout some young talents, and then some of them were driving my team, and now he’s giving me some good advice. He’s got a bit softer, but Helmut was always hard but fair.”

Red Bull drivers that have made it to F1 and subsequently been dropped

There have been several drivers over the years that Red Bull has helped get into F1, but only two have become World Champions out of it.

Red Bull spends a fair amount of investment in young talent with the hope of seeing a return, but it does not always end up that way for some.

Ricciardo being unceremoniously dropped by Visa CashApp RB shows just how ruthless it can be, while Kvyat is another example of a driver who hit a peak but struggled to deliver the results required from a top team.

Jean-Eric Vergne is seen as a lost Red Bull talent having went on to become Formula E world champion after F1, while Sebastian Bourdais had success in IndyCar after his F1 career.