Max Verstappen has said “it wasn’t a bluff” when he declared Helmut Marko “has to stay” at Red Bull in order for him to remain as well.

Amid internal uncertainty at the team ahead of the start of last season, there was a period in which senior advisor Marko claimed he was at threat of a Red Bull suspension – and said he had considered walking away from the sport of his own volition anyway – but opted to carry on.

Max Verstappen: Helmut Marko having to stay at Red Bull ‘wasn’t a bluff’

Reports of Verstappen’s future being tied to whether or not Marko stayed at the team circulated as a result, but both remain at Red Bull into 2025.

The four-time World Champion explained he remains close to Marko, who continues to oversee Red Bull’s driver development programme.

Verstappen told Sky Sports last March: “My loyalty in general to Red Bull, but also to [Marko], after all for what he has done for me goes very far.

“For me, Helmut is a very key factor in that and he has to stay for me, for sure.”

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Asked if Marko needed to remain at Red Bull for him to also remain at the team, Verstappen confirmed: “I’ve always said that to the team, they know that.”

Now that time has passed, Verstappen added that, while he would not have upped sticks and downed tools at the first sign of inconvenience, he was “not quite 100 per cent” about his Red Bull future at one stage.

While he and the team went on to achieve a fourth consecutive Drivers’ title together in 2024, he admitted the early uncertainty surrounding the Red Bull motorsport advisor was something that he needed to address.

“I think I did state clearly what I thought about it,” Verstappen told Dutch publication De Telegraaf when reminded of his comments about Marko last year.

“I also think it was important that I said that at the time. And I meant it too. It wasn’t a bluff. And they know that within the team too.

“Whether at that stage I had any doubts about my future at Red Bull? Well, the feeling was not quite 100 per cent. There was a lot going on.

“But on the other hand, I also don’t think that if something goes wrong, you can immediately just say: I’m leaving. I’m not like that.”

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