Helmut Marko | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Marko at the2016 Austrian Grand Prix | |
| Born | (1943-04-27)27 April 1943 (age 82) |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Austrian |
| Active years | 1971–1972 |
| Teams | Bonnier,BRM |
| Entries | 10 (9 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Careerpoints | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1971 German Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1972 French Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1970–1972 |
| Teams | Martini,Alfa Romeo |
| Best finish | 1st(1971) |
| Class wins | 2(1970,1971) |
Helmut Marko (born 27 April 1943) is an Austrian formerracing driver andmotorsport executive, who competed inFormula One from1971 to1972. Inendurance racing, Marko won the24 Hours of Le Mans in1971 withMartini. He foundedRSM Marko in 1989, and has been an advisor toRed Bull Racing and itsrelated teams since 2005, winning sixWorld Constructors' Championship titles between2010 and2023.
Born and raised inAustria, Marko progressed tosportscar racing by the late-1960s after completing hisdoctorate in law at theUniversity of Graz. Finding success in theEuropean Touring Car Championship and becoming a class winner at the1970 24 Hours of Le Mans withMartini, Marko progressed to the premier class thefollowing year and won the race in then-record distance alongsideGijs van Lennep. Less than two months later, Marko debuted in Formula One withBonnier at theGerman Grand Prix, driving aprivateerMcLaren M7C. He joinedBRM for the remainder of the1971 season, and retained his seat in1972. Marko was seriously injured during the1972 French Grand Prix, when debris projected by theMarch ofRonnie Peterson pierced hisvisor and left him permanently blinded in his left eye, ending his racing career aged 29.
Since retiring from motor racing, Marko has moved into team and driver management, foundingRSM Marko in 1989, which became theRed Bull Junior Team in 1999. WithRed Bull, Marko has overseen the development of twoFormula One World Drivers' Champions—Sebastian Vettel andMax Verstappen—and has been an advisor toRed Bull Racing since2005, winning sixWorld Constructors' Championships with the team; the graduates of hisdevelopment programme have won a combined eightWorld Drivers' Championships and 135Grands Prix.
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Marko was born inGraz on 27 April 1943, duringNazi-occupation of Austria. He was a school friend ofJochen Rindt, who later won theFormula One World Drivers' Championship in1970.[1] Marko graduated from theUniversity of Graz in 1967 with adoctorate in law.[2] Marko owns four hotels inGraz – theSchlossberghotel,Augartenhotel,Lendhotel andKai 36.
Marko competed in several race series, including 10 Formula One Grands Prix in 1971 and 1972, but scored no World Championship points.
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He had more success inendurance racing, winning the1971 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving aMartini-Porsche 917K withGijs van Lennep. During that year, they set a distance record which remained unbeaten until the2010 24 Hours of Le Mans (5,335.313 km, at an average of 222.304 km/h - changes to the track reduced the average speed.)
At theTarga Florio, he drove the fastest laps around the 72 km Sicilian mountain circuit in the 1972 race, catching up over two minutes on the leader within two laps to finish second by a mere 17 seconds. His fastest lap in theAlfa Romeo 33 was 33 min 41 sec, at an average of 128.253 km/h.[3]
Marko debuted in Formula One withJo Bonnier'sEcurie Bonnier at theGerman Grand Prix, driving theMcLaren M7C. He joinedBRM for the remainder of the1971 season, and retained his seat in1972. Marko was seriously injured during the1972 French Grand Prix atClermont-Ferrand, held a few weeks after the Targa Florio, when a sharp volcanic rock kicked up by theMarch ofRonnie Peterson pierced his visor and left him permanently blinded in his left eye, ending his racing career aged 29.[a][4][5][6][7][8]
Marko was the manager for Austrian racing driversGerhard Berger andKarl Wendlinger for several years prior to foundingRSM Marko in 1989, a racing team who competed inFormula 3 andFormula 3000; running under the nameRed Bull Junior Team from 1999 onwards. Since then, he has administeredRed Bull's driver development programme, which has seen several drivers progress to Formula One, includingSebastian Vettel,Daniel Ricciardo,Carlos Sainz Jr.,Pierre Gasly andMax Verstappen. Marko's Formula One graduates have a combined eightWorld Drivers' Championship titles and 135Grands Prix between them, with Vettel achieving the first in2010. Since 2005, he has been an advisor to all Formula One teams owned by Red Bull, includingRed Bull Racing (2005–present) and its sister team,Racing Bulls (2024–present). Racing Bulls previously competed under the namesToro Rosso (2006–2019),AlphaTauri (2020–2023) and RB (2024).[9]
Marko faced scrutiny in September 2023 for his comments regardingRed Bull Racing driverSergio Pérez's lack of form throughout the2023 season, following theItalian Grand Prix. Talking toRed Bull-owned broadcasterServusTV, he was quoted saying "we know that he has problems in qualifying, he has fluctuations in form, he is South American and he is just not as completely focused in his head asMax Verstappen is, or asSebastian Vettel".[10][11] Marko's comments were widely perceived as racially charged, with many pointing out that Pérez—aMexican national—is not South American.[11] Marko apologised on 8 September, stating "I was trying to make a point that [Pérez] has fluctuated in his performance this year, but it was wrong to attribute this to his cultural heritage."[10][12] Pérez accepted Marko's apology on 14 September and theFIA reprimanded him the following day.[13][14]
In March 2024, Marko faced an internal investigation and possible suspension atRed Bull Racing over leaking insider information regarding team principalChristian Horner's alleged misconduct.[15] Red Bull driver and defending three-time World Drivers' ChampionMax Verstappen defended Marko through the investigation, indicating that he would leave if Marko was dropped.[15] He was cleared of the allegations following talks withRed Bull GmbH executiveOliver Mintzlaff.[16]
Marko attracted controversy over his comments regardingRacing Bulls driverIsack Hadjar's debut crash on theformation lap of the2025 Australian Grand Prix.[17][18] He described the incident as "embarrassing", with Hadjar later admitting he was also embarrassed.[17]
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 |  Martini International Racing Team | Rudi Lins | Porsche 908/2LH | P 3.0 | 335 | 3rd | 1st |
| 1971 | Martini International Racing Team |  Gijs van Lennep | Porsche 917K | S 5.0 | 397 | 1st | 1st |
| 1972 |  Autodelta SpA |  Vic Elford | Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3 | S 3.0 | 232 | DNF | DNF |
Source:[19] | |||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | BMW-Alpina | BMW 1600 | C | BRH | SNE | THR | SIL | CRY | SIL | SIL 7 | CRO | BRH | OUL | BRH | BRH | 40th | 4 | 14th |
Source:[20] | ||||||||||||||||||
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Ecurie Bonnier | Lola T240 | Ford | HOC Ret | THR | NÜR 8 | JAR Ret | PAL | ROU | 20th | 1 | |||||
| Constructions Mechanique Pygmée | Pygmée MDB16 | MAN Ret | TUL | ALB | VAL | VAL | ||||||||||
Source:[21] | ||||||||||||||||
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Ecurie Bonnier | McLarenM7C | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8 | RSA | ESP | MON | NED | FRA | GBR | GER DNQ | NC | 0 | |||||
| Yardley-BRM | BRMP153 | BRM P142 3.0V12 | AUT 11 | ITA Ret | CAN 12 | ||||||||||||
| BRMP160 | USA 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1972 | Austria-Marlboro BRM | BRMP153 | BRM P142 3.0V12 | ARG 10 | RSA 14 | ESP | NC | 0 | |||||||||
| BRMP153B | MON 8 | BEL 10 | |||||||||||||||
| BRMP160B | FRA Ret | GBR | GER | AUT | ITA | CAN | USA | ||||||||||
Source:[22] | |||||||||||||||||
