Helmut Marko’s time with Red Bull Racing was marked by excellence, two dominant periods, and some of the strongest drivers. Working together with Christian Horner, the two of them built a team from scratch and went on to win six Constructors’ and eight Drivers’ championships. However, as the 2025 F1 season came to an end, neither of them is a part of the team.

The team announced Horner’s departure earlier in July. Further, as the season came to an end, Marko announced his exit. While the two worked together for a little over two decades in the team, internal tensions between them are now starting to come out in public. That raises the question: Was Christian Horner the man behind Marko’s Red Bull departure?

Helmut Marko reveals internal games at Red Bull

Marko had been part of the team since its inception in 2005. Horner had also served as their team principal for the same time. Understandably, the duo made many of the team’s crucial decisions, including the driver choices. Helmut Marko was also in charge of Red Bull’s Junior Driver Academy and picked some of the best drivers with bright futures.

The two worked together strongly; however, Marko recently revealed some deficiencies in Horner’s management in his final months with the team, claiming that Max Verstappen would have won the fifth title if he departed the team earlier.

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“We had to do something because performance lagged behind on the track. If we had done that before, we would have gotten it on track faster this year and Max would have become world champion. I am firmly convinced of that,” Marko told De Limburger.

Marko then made a more shocking claim of Christian Horner fabricating his statements, potentially to make him depart from the team.

“But those last years with Horner were not pleasant,” he added. “Filthy games were played. Do you remember when I said in Sergio Pérez’s time that Mexicans are less focused than Dutch or Germans? That was manufactured, maybe by them. Just like I would have spread in 2024 that the development of our engine was behind schedule and that we would therefore lose Ford as our sponsor. Never said that, but Horner wanted to use that to suspend me.”

It is tough to claim if this actually happened. However, Red Bull’s internal management was indeed in shackles within the 2024 and 2025 period. All ranging from the internal investigation to Marko’s departure.

What potentially happened at RBR in the past two years?

Everything seemed perfect for the Milton Keynes-based outfit in 2023. They delivered the most dominating season in F1 history, won both championships, and were leading in 2024. However, there was a lot more that went on beyond their garage.

Early in 2024, an internal investigation was launched against Horner after an RBR worker accused him of inappropriate behavior. Although he was cleared, this created major unrest within the team. Moreover, it is speculated to be one of the major reasons Adrian Newey departed from the team.

All of this happened while Verstappen was chasing his fourth consecutive title. Red Bull eventually lost competitiveness, conceding the Constructors’ title to McLaren, and the 2025 season started even worse. Verstappen was falling out of contention with every passing race until July, when Horner departed. It was speculated that the team’s overall performance, along with the internal investigation, had done the damage to Horner.

Perhaps a coincidence, but the team’s performance seemingly improved with Laurent Mekies taking control. Verstappen became a strong contender once again; however, he lost the championship. In his departing statement, Horner mentioned that losing the title this year was one of the reasons he decided to quit.

It is not easy to assess what it was that happened within the team in the past two years. However, with three of the biggest names leaving, it is quite apparent that it shocked RBR to the core. Although they did become quite competitive by the end of the 2025 season, can they carry this momentum into 2026 with the new regulations?