Marko invited MotoGP boss to run F1

Dr Helmut Marko has admitted he urged MotoGP boss Carmelo Ezpeleta to announce his candidacy to replace Chase Carey as CEO of Formula 1.

73-year-old Ezpeleta is CEO of Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of the two-wheeled F1 equivalent.

Marko, a top official at Red Bull, thinks Ezpeleta would already have solved what he thinks is the biggest problem in Formula 1 at present — the tyres.

Marko claims Pirelli’s 2019 tyres suit only one team, Mercedes, and has even hinted at potential preferential treatment between the two brands.

"In MotoGP, this problem would already have been solved," Austrian Marko told Speed Week.

"In Formula 1 we are not required to give any team an advantage. We are committed to the fans to put on the best possible racing."

MotoGP’s Expeleta, a Spaniard, attended the Spanish grand prix in Barcelona last month, and Speed Week claims Marko asked him to make a bid to run F1.

"You’re right. I asked him," Marko confirmed.

"The problem is the rules. Carmelo would have never allowed such a set of rules."

He said the MotoGP rules are specifically designed to help smaller teams catch up with the dominant factory outfits, while in F1 the system means only a "crazy financial effort" can bridge the cap to Mercedes.

Happily for Red Bull, Honda seems to be pushing extremely hard to catch up.

"First of all, we are very happy with Honda and the reliability," he said.

"We are behind in power, but we’re getting a new engine in Paul Ricard. It is not necessarily the big step — we’ll get that in Monza. But at Honda, they are catching up.

"Do not ask how big the effort is. The test benches in Japan run day and night," Marko added.

As for the contentious interviews he has given since Canada, Marko says he is only trying to be honest about problems that exist in F1.

"I don’t understand why I have to defend myself when I address the problem with the tyres," he said.

"Sure, Red Bull was dominant with Vettel for four years, but never as dominant as Mercedes is now. And when we dominated, we were slowed down during the season by various rule changes.

"First it was the stiffness of the wing, then the diffuser, and the changes were possible during the season. Not today.

"I don’t know if it’s hopeless. Pirelli has already changed the tyres during a season — after Silverstone in 2013 when the tyres were bursting. As I said, I have shown the problem," Marko added.