On August 12, 2014, Red Bull announced Verstappen’s entry into its junior team. At the time, the 16-year-old already had a guaranteed seat in Formula 1 as a full-time driver, which was officially confirmed six days later by Toro Rosso.
His signing was the pinnacle of Helmut Marko’s work over the past 25 years, a success achieved mainly because Red Bull was able to offer Verstappen an F1 seat in its “B” team—an option not available to Toto Wolff, Marko’s direct rival during that heated summer 11 years ago.
Once Verstappen proved to be Red Bull’s greatest investment, Helmut Marko adopted the “Max model” as a benchmark. The Dutchman became the standard against which all junior drivers would be measured, and the approach that worked for Max Verstappen became the certified method within the team.
Between 2015 and 2018, Max and Marko experienced moments of tension, peaking during the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix when Max Verstappen crashed at the Swimming Pool section in FP3, compromising his race weekend. Helmut Marko was extremely critical, and from that moment, Verstappen changed his attitude and, more importantly, stepped up his game—another victory for Marko.
Max Verstappen’s relentless rise to the top of Formula 1 only reinforced Marko’s beliefs: a tough, unforgiving approach, with little room for second chances and zero empathy for struggling drivers. Lending a helping hand was never part of the equation. If things went south, a driver had to pull himself out of trouble or say goodbye to his F1 dreams. It worked for Verstappen, so Marko insisted it should work in the ongoing search for “the next Max.”
A Concrete Example? The Melbourne Weekend
Isack Hadjar had an impressive start to the weekend, coming close to reaching Q3 in qualifying. However, he made an error before the race even began, sliding off at the first corner on the formation lap. Distraught, he returned to the paddock in tears, keeping his helmet on to conceal his emotions. Anthony Hamilton, watching the scene on TV, left Ferrari’s hospitality area to comfort the young driver.
“I was really struck by Isack’s reaction,” Hamilton Sr. told Canal+. “I felt for him. I know how tough it is for an eight-year-old to dream of becoming an F1 driver—the pressure along the way is immense. And when you’re just about to achieve that dream, you find yourself out of the race. It must be the worst feeling in the world. I just wanted to give him a fatherly hug. I told myself it was the right thing to do, to tell him to keep his head up and walk tall.”
Other figures, including Stefano Domenicali, also visited the Racing Bulls hospitality area to offer support, recognizing the importance of such gestures in difficult moments.
Then, after the race, Marko made his own statement to Austrian broadcaster ORF: “I found the whole spectacle a bit embarrassing,” he said, referring to Isack Hadjar’s tears. A cold, ruthless remark that reaffirmed his typical “shock therapy” approach—throwing fuel on the fire to see who withstands the flames and who burns out.
After all, it worked with Max, so why shouldn’t it work for everyone?
In his relentless search for the next Verstappen, Red Bull’s special advisor has shaped the careers—and, in many cases, the downfalls—of numerous young drivers. Only a select few (Sainz, Albon, Gasly) have had the strength and luck to recover after being cast aside, managing to rebuild their careers and even making their way back onto Red Bull’s radar.
With just one race completed in 2025, Helmut Marko has already taken aim at Hadjar—and even at Liam Lawson, who made his Red Bull debut with 11 Grands Prix under his belt. What drives an 80-year-old executive to continue down this path of cynicism remains a mystery.
Christian Horner, in contrast, offered a more supportive perspective: “It was heartbreaking to see Hadjar so devastated—it was his first Grand Prix, after all. I think there were plenty of positives to take from his weekend. He did very well in practice and qualifying. We have to remember that we’re judging very young drivers, and I believe he can take a lot of positives from this experience. He has a long road ahead.”
Christian Horner’s words are exactly what one would expect from a modern-day team leader. While much speculation surrounds the (unlikely) departure of Verstappen from Red Bull, perhaps the real conversation should be about Marko’s future. He has contributed a lot, and in return, he has received even more. But in the end, his 25-year legacy in driver scouting remains defined by a single success story.
The past decade has shown that the Marko method does not work. And even when his scouting decisions have been correct, his harsh management style—piling immense pressure onto young drivers—has often undone their potential. These are kids under 20, living in constant fear of their phones ringing and seeing one dreaded name on the screen: “Marko.”
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