“Trained monkey” remark adds to growing list of disturbing Helmut Marko anecdotes. A new anecdote involving Helmut Marko resurfaces following his exit from Red Bull.

The paths of Red Bull and Helmut Marko have now definitively parted ways. The Austrian has long been a prominent figure within the team, known for his unyielding and stubborn character. In recent times, however, the issues linked to the senior advisor have clearly outweighed the benefits, ultimately leading to the end of their working relationship.

In any case, Helmut Marko played a fundamental role in the team’s success, having identified extraordinary talents such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, or more recently Isack Hadjar, who in 2026 will take on the role of team-mate to the four-time Dutch world champion.

The 82-year-old worked for most of his life in motorsport, consistently displaying his personality in front of the cameras, often without any filter. For this very reason, many within the paddock have reacted with a sense of relief and even enthusiasm to Marko’s departure from Formula 1.

Kravitz’s testimony

“You know, back in the Vettel era I used to go and interview him whenever he won. Sometimes I would first ask questions to the team boss or things like that,” recalled Ted Kravitz, British journalist for Sky Sports F1. “I would go to Christian Horner and wait for him to step down from the pit wall for an interview, as my job as a reporter requires.”

“Helmut Marko would always come over, give Christian a tap on the back. A couple of times, before they came over to speak to me, I heard him say, ‘I see your trained monkey is waiting for you for the interview, so you’d better go.’ He always called me that because I was following Horner around with a microphone. I would reply with something like, ‘Haha, good one, Helmut.’”

“The stupid comments about Antonelli, the disgusting ones about Perez, where he attributed his lack of form to his ethnicity. He was an old-school figure, and when Lambiase was crying on the pit wall two or three days ago, who went up to him and said, ‘It’s all right, mate’? It was Helmut,” he continued.

“There’s something deep down inside me that was sorry to see the old guy go, something very small. And I’ll deal with it: I’ll take it, put it in a little bag and throw it in the bin as soon as we finish this podcast, because I believe his time is over,” he concluded.

Ultimately, the 82-year-old made immense contributions to the sport over decades, but modern Formula 1 has evolved beyond his outdated mindset. It’s time for Marko to pack up and move on without looking back – his old-school thinking no longer aligns with the inclusive, progressive direction the championship has taken.