Amid “For Sale” Rumors, Helmut Marko Makes Eye-Catching AlphaTauri Announcement

No team has ever made Formula 1 their own feeder series, except Red Bull! Since 2006, the Milton-Keynes-based outfit has been running a grand total of four cars on the F1 grid. After buying the cult-favorite Minardi F1 team in 2006, Red Bull christened their ‘B-team’; Toro Rosso, which literally translates to Red Bull in Italian. Since then, it’s been a stepping stone for drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz to just name a few. But the team now known as AlphaTauri will change its appearance come 2024.

In the recent past, after the sad demise of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, rumors abound that the Bulls wanted to get rid of the Faenza-based outfit completely. Those rumors were eventually quelled by the top brass as they said the team was not for sale. But that doesn’t mean that AlphaTauri will sustain itself beyond the end of the 2023 F1 season.

Helmut Marko reveals huge news about AlphaTauri

Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko is no slouch when it comes to the no-nonsense talk department. That’s why when he has something to say, it isn’t speculation but the truth. And if his words about AlphaTauri’s future are anything to go by, there is a huge reshuffle in the works.

Crash.net quoted him as saying, “AlphaTauri will have two new leaders in 2024, Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer. There will be new sponsors and a new name.” But not only does the team lose its identity, it may also lose its autonomy.

“The orientation is clear: follow Red Bull Racing as far as the regulations allow. Own designs are the wrong way to go,” concluded Marko.

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From the looks of it, AlphaTauri is at the mercy of Red Bull. And it could be soon that they eventually decide to pull the plug.

Having a second team doesn’t make sense anymore for Red Bull

Keeping the upkeep of two F1 teams on the books needs a solid reason behind it. Legacy isn’t enough. However, with the recent developments in the sport, in terms of the cost-cap, and within Red Bull itself, with Mateschitz’s loss, does AlphaTauri stand a chance?

According to F1 insider, Mark Gallagher, Red Bull had kept AlphaTauri on the books because, “Dietrich [Mateschitz], not only had this idea and vision of driver development with Helmut Marko, but also politically it gave them an extra seat at the table in the Ecclestone era of Formula 1, but that’s no longer relevant,” as quoted by MARCA.

That being said, Sergio Perez‘s Red Bull arrival may have rung the death knell for its B-team. “Checo [Perez] is proof of the failure of Red Bull’s driver academy, because when they tried with youngsters like Pierre Gasly or Alexander Albon, they were unable to stand out.”

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Is AlphaTauri on the brink of F1 extinction?