Helmut Marko’s Request to Toto Wolff Comes True as Lando Norris Incident Gives “Second Best Solution”

Red Bull has gotten a secret Mercedes supporter in the team! Helmut Marko, the RBR Chief Advisor, had previously claimed he wants Toto Wolff’s squad to get good results in the upcoming Grands Prix. This will ensure the Austrian outfit’s direct rivals, Ferrari and McLaren, fail to get the top places in the grid. Thus, the points gap between Red Bull and the other squads in F1 will widen to the extent that Marko’s squad will undoubtedly win the Constructors’ World Championship in 2024. Going by this plan, Helmut Marko is happy as Merc racer George Russell won in Austria last weekend, even though his own recruit Verstappen didn’t.

As per the current World Championship standings, Red Bull is leading the pack followed by Ferrari and McLaren. Fourth on the ranks is Mercedes, with a gap of 159 points to Helmut Marko’s team. At this point, the octagenarian knows Mercedes cannot catch up to RBR but the other two teams can. Thus, he wants the Silver Arrows to take away as many points as possible from Ferrari and McLaren to ensure Red Bull maintains their lead.

At the recently-held Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull’s golden boy Max Verstappen failed to secure a win. He came into contact with McLaren’s Lando Norris towards the latter part of the race and dropped to the fifth position on the grid. However, Helmut Marko sees this as a positive situation. While Verstappen came fifth, he walked away with 10 points. On the other hand, his closest rival for the Championship, Lando Norris, got zero points as he had to retire from his run at the Red Bull Ring.

Due to the ruckus that ensued in Max Verstappen’s collision with Lando Norris, Mercedes’ George Russell inherited his second Grand Prix victory. Thus, Ferrari and McLaren scored much less than Mercedes, and this increased their gap to Red Bull. So, Lando and Max’s collision made sure everything went as per Helmut Marko’s plan. When an interviewer asked Marko if he thinks Mercedes’ results in Austria have given Red Bull an advantage, the 80-year-old gave his opinions about it.

Helmut Marko talked to Oe24, explaining, “A win [in Austria] would of course have been better. After all, we extended our lead in the World Championship in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. That was the second best solution.” Hence, it would have been best for Marko to find one of his recruits winning the race, but as neither did, he believes the second best solution is that none of the racers from their direct rival teams won, thanks to Mercedes. But Marko should not be too friendly with the Silver Arrows yet.

Toto Wolff sets eyes on poaching Max Verstappen for 2025 campaign

The 2024 World Championship might be Max Verstappen’s last season with Red Bull despite his current contract lasting till 2028. This is because the Dutchman has an exit clause that he can activate if he wishes to quit the Milton-Keynes outfit. And as per Toto Wolff, Mercedes will try every trick in the book to lure the reigning World Champion to its Stuttgart headquarters. If Wolff successfully poaches Max, Helmut Marko, the person responsible for scouting and helping the Dutchman train, will lose an important player in Red Bull’s campaign.

Thus, Helmut might currently root for Mercedes to win because it would help Red Bull ward off the attacks of Ferrari and McLaren. But in the long run, he must stay wary of the German manufacturers. In fact, Toto Wolff has gone as far as laying down his plan to land Verstappen. The Austrian has said, “First and foremost, we have to make our cars faster. If the car goes fast, fast drivers will want to drive with us.”

Now that Max Verstappen is the target of Mercedes, Red Bull’s Team Principal Christian Horner might re-ignite his feud with Wolff. Added to this, the Silver Arrows are once again getting top spots in the races, and soon, Lewis Hamilton might get a Grand Prix victory too. Do you think the current situation will lead the way toward a repeat of the 2021 season where the Mercedes v Red Bull rivalry reigned supreme? Share your opinions on this in the comments below.