Helmut Marko (born 27 April 1943) is an Austrian former

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

and

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

executive, who competed in

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

from to . In endurance racing, Marko won the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

in with Martini. He founded RSM Marko in 1989, and has been an advisor to

Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...

and its related teams since 2005, winning six World Constructors' Championship titles between and . Born and raised in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, Marko progressed to

sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

by the late-1960s after completing his doctorate in law at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...

. Finding success in the

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

and becoming a class winner at the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans with Martini, Marko progressed to the premier class the following year and won the race in then-record distance alongside Gijs van Lennep. Less than two months later, Marko debuted in Formula One with Bonnier at the , driving a

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

McLaren M7C. He joined BRM for the remainder of the season, and retained his seat in . Marko was seriously injured during the 1972 French Grand Prix, when debris projected by the

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Superswede", Peterson twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in an ...

pierced his

visor A visor (also spelled vizor) is a surface that protects the eyes, such as shading them from the sun or other bright light or protecting them from objects. Nowadays many visors are transparent, but before strong transparent substances such a ...

and left him permanently blinded in his left eye, ending his racing career aged 29. Since retiring from motor racing, Marko has moved into team and driver management, founding RSM Marko in 1989, which became the Red Bull Junior Team in 1999. With

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

, Marko has overseen the development of two Formula One World Drivers' Champions—

Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...

and

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...

—and has been an advisor to

since , winning six

World Constructors' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which ...

s with the team; the graduates of his development programme have won a combined eight

World Drivers' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...

s and Grands Prix.

Early and personal life

Marko was born in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

on 27 April 1943, during Nazi-occupation of Austria. He was a school friend of

Jochen Rindt Karl Jochen Rindt (; 18 April 1942 – 5 September 1970) was a racing driver, who competed under the Austrian flag in Formula One from to . Rindt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Lotus, and remains the only driver to ...

, who later won the

Formula One World Drivers' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of Open wheel car, open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of r ...

in . Marko graduated from the

in 1967 with a doctorate in law. Marko owns four hotels in

– the ''Schlossberghotel'', ''Augartenhotel'', ''Lendhotel'' and ''Kai 36''.

Racing career

Marko competed in several race series, including 10 Formula One Grands Prix in 1971 and 1972, but scored no World Championship points.

Sportscar racing career

He had more success in endurance racing, winning the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving a Martini-

Porsche 917 The Porsche 917 is a sports prototype race car developed by German manufacturer Porsche to exploit the regulations regarding the construction of 5-litre sports cars. Powered by a Type 912 flat-12 engine which was progressively enlarged from 4. ...

K with Gijs van Lennep. During that year, they set a distance record which remained unbeaten until the

2010 24 Hours of Le Mans The 78th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: 78''e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a non-championship 24-hour Endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance race for teams of three drivers each fielding Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Grand tourer, Grand T ...

(5,335.313 km, at an average of 222.304 km/h - changes to the track reduced the average speed.) At the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo, Sicily, Palermo. Founded in 1906 Targa Florio, 1906, it was the oldest sports car ra ...

, he drove the fastest laps around the 72 km Sicilian mountain circuit in the 1972 race, catching up over two minutes on the leader within two laps to finish second by a mere 17 seconds. His fastest lap in the

Alfa Romeo 33 The Alfa Romeo 33 (Type 905 and 907) is a small family car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo between 1983 and 1995. From a mechanical standpoint it was essentially an evolution of its predecessor, the Alfa Romeo Alfasud, Alfasud, who ...

was 33 min 41 sec, at an average of 128.253 km/h.

Formula One career

Marko debuted in Formula One with Jo Bonnier's

Ecurie Bonnier Ecurie Bonnier, Ecurie Suisse, Joakim Bonnier Racing Team and Anglo-Suisse Racing Team were names used by Swedes, Swedish racing driver Joakim Bonnier to enter his own cars in Formula One, Formula Two and sports car racing between 1957 and his de ...

at the , driving the McLaren M7C. He joined BRM for the remainder of the season, and retained his seat in . Marko was seriously injured during the 1972 French Grand Prix at

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

, held a few weeks after the Targa Florio, when a sharp volcanic rock kicked up by the

pierced his visor and left him permanently blinded in his left eye, ending his racing career aged 29.

Retirement from motor racing

Marko was the manager for Austrian racing drivers Gerhard Berger and Karl Wendlinger for several years prior to founding RSM Marko in 1989, a racing team who competed in

Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

and

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championship ...

; running under the name Red Bull Junior Team from 1999 onwards. Since then, he has administered

's driver development programme, which has seen several drivers progress to Formula One, including

Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( , ; born 1 July 1989) is an Australian racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Ricciardo won eight Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Born and raised in Perth to Italian-Australi ...

, Carlos Sainz Jr.,

Pierre Gasly Pierre Jean-Jacques Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Alpine. Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with AlphaTauri. Born and raised in Normandy, Gasly began competitive kart racing age ...

and

. Marko's Formula One graduates have a combined eight World Drivers' Championship titles and Grands Prix between them, with Vettel achieving the first in . Since 2005, he has been an advisor to all Formula One teams owned by Red Bull, including

(2005–present) and its sister team, Racing Bulls (2024–present). Racing Bulls previously competed under the names Toro Rosso (2006–2019), AlphaTauri (2020–2023) and RB (2024).

Controversies

2023 Sergio Pérez comments

Marko faced scrutiny in September 2023 for his comments regarding

driver

Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...

's lack of form throughout the season, following the . Talking to

-owned broadcaster ServusTV, he was quoted saying "we know that he has problems in qualifying, he has fluctuations in form, he is South American and he is just not as completely focused in his head as

is, or as

". Marko's comments were widely perceived as racially charged, with many pointing out that Pérez—a Mexican national—is not South American. Marko apologised on 8 September, stating "I was trying to make a point that érezhas fluctuated in his performance this year, but it was wrong to attribute this to his cultural heritage." Pérez accepted Marko's apology on 14 September and the FIA reprimanded him the following day.

Information leaks

In March 2024, Marko faced an internal investigation and possible suspension at

over leaking insider information regarding team principal

Christian Horner Christian Edward Johnston Horner (born 16 November 1973) is a British motorsport executive and former racing driver. Since 2005, Horner has served as team principal and chief executive officer, CEO of Red Bull Racing in Formula One, winning s ...

's alleged misconduct.https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5327048/2024/03/08/helmut-marko-red-bull-f1-suspension-horner-investigation/ Red Bull driver and defending three-time World Drivers' Champion

defended Marko through the investigation, indicating that he would leave if Marko was dropped.

2025 Isack Hadjar comments

Marko attracted controversy over his comments regarding Racing Bulls driver

Isack Hadjar Isack Alexandre Hadjar (, ; born 28 September 2004) is a French and Algerian racing driver who competes Formula One drivers from France, under the French flag in Formula One for Racing Bulls. Born and raised in Paris to an Algerian family, Hadj ...

's debut crash on the formation lap of the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/hadjar-on-defusing-markos-embarrassing-storm-hamiltons-compassion/10705059/https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/44325946/isack-hadjar-agrees-helmut-marko-embarrassing-australian-gp-reaction He described the incident as "embarrassing", with Hadjar later admitting he was also embarrassed.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

( key)

Complete Formula One World Championship results