Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko has taken aim at several F1 drivers ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Marko, who leads the team’s driver development programme, claimed that “stagnant” racers are blocking off routes into the sport for younger talent.
An unchanged grid this year has sparked fears that younger drivers won’t be able to break into the sport. This season is the first time in the sport’s history that the same grid which ended the previous campaign started the following one.
Changes are afoot next season, however, with Ollie Bearman getting his break in F1 with Haas. But Marko claimed in his latest column in Red Bull’s Speedweek magazine that specific drivers are “stagnating” and not performing well enough to justify starting on the grid for races.
The Austrian said: “I can’t name any names, but there are drivers in the field who stagnate and are a bit better or worse depending on their mood.
“They block the way for the young drivers. The teams are also afraid of juniors. Of course, they make mistakes, but I’d rather someone makes mistakes and is a hope for the future than there is no more improvement.”
F1’s grid situation in 2024 spells trouble in Marko’s eyes, as he urged for more young drivers to make the breakthrough into the top level of F1. Marko is pleased to see the aforementioned Bearman’s development and is hoping to see more of the same in the years to come.
He said: “With Oliver Bearman, he was in the right place at the right time and will move up to Formula 1 next year. His race in the Ferrari has shown him his F1 future, but if you were to look at his Formula 2 results, things would look a lot worse for him. But it’s good that young people are coming into Formula 1, I’m absolutely in favour of that.”
With Lewis Hamilton making the move to Ferrari next year and a spot opening up in Mercedes, there could be chance yet for even more fresh faces in the F1 circuit. Marko has pointed out two talents that he sees following in Yuki Tsunoda’s footsteps – who graduated to F1 in 2021.
Marko has claimed current Formula Two leader Isack Hadjar and Formula Three star Arvid Lindblad could make the jump in future years. He added: “During the summer break, we will also analyse and evaluate the performance of the Red Bull juniors in more detail.
“Hadjar took the lead in the F2 standings with his victory in the feature at Silverstone. We mustn’t forget that he was unlucky several times. There was the engine failure, then the reserve engine that didn’t work and then the two fuel supply failures and twice he was also spun out through no fault of his own.
“Lindblad shone in Formula 3, having stepped up directly from Formula 4 to Formula 3 as a rookie and winning both races. He is only 16 years old and we are delighted that you can now drive Formula 1 again at 17. But we’re staying calm and continuing to produce good results with our juniors, who are now enjoying more priority again and are also allowed to drive Formula 1 cars.”
