Marko hits back at Horner over book claims

Dr Helmut Marko has hit back at Christian Horner’s claims about Max Verstappen’s arrival at Red Bull, insisting it was actually Horner who initially opposed promoting the then teenaged Dutchman.

Horner’s forthcoming autobiography, Drive, reportedly claims that Marko initially did not want Verstappen in the team.

But Marko, now retired from his Red Bull advisory role, dismissed the controversy in an interview with Austrian newspaper Osterreich.

"I’m ignoring it as much as possible," he said.

"Ralf Schumacher handled it very well."

Schumacher has already described Horner’s version of events as "an absolute lie", recalling how Marko first approached Verstappen when he was just 11.

Marko said the relationship developed further during Verstappen’s Formula 3 career before Red Bull brought him into Formula 1.

"I brought Max into Formula 1 and had to prevail against Horner in his first race for Red Bull in Barcelona," said the 83-year-old.

"He thought Max was too young, too inexperienced..."

Verstappen famously won that race on his Red Bull Racing debut in 2016.

Meanwhile, Marko watched Sunday’s chaotic Sepang race from home, where he was delighted to see Verstappen secure Red Bull’s first victory with its own power unit.

But the software failure that disrupted the start left him unimpressed.

"It’s truly shameful that a high-end product like Formula 1 is brought to a halt by a software problem," said the Austrian.

"On the other hand, this embarrassment helps to make people rethink things. The return to the turbocharged V8 engine in 2030 is, as far as I know, a done deal."

Marko also revealed that Verstappen is optimistic about following up his victory at Sepang with another win in Singapore this weekend.

"Max said he thinks it’s possible to finally win in Singapore," he said.

"As you know, that’s the only victory he’s missing."

Marko said he had personally congratulated Verstappen following Sepang.