Marko questions rivals' big salaries amid Red Bull staff departures
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko admits to being surprised by the significant financial incentives offered by rival F1 teams to lure personnel away from the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Red Bull Racing has been the benchmark for success in the sport in recent years, but the team's dominance is now being met with significant challenges, both on the track and off it.
Several key figures from Red Bull’s technical and management team have opted to pursue their careers elsewhere, with legendary designer Adrian Newey joining Aston Martin while longstanding sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will move to Audi-Sauber.
Furthermore, Red Bull head of strategy Will Courtenay has contracted with McLaren from next season, further enhancing the exodus.
Although Marko acknowledges that such a turnover is a natural consequence of success, the Austrian raises concerns about how rival teams are adhering to Formula 1's budget cap while offering such substantial financial packages to poached employees.
"Of course, if you win for three years in a row and are so dominant in 2023, your team members are coveted by other teams,” Marko explained in an interview with ORF. “That is inherent to Formula 1."
However, it’s not the interest from other teams that has caught Marko off guard—it's the scale of the financial packages they are offering.
"What surprises me are the amounts that are offered," he added. "We always struggle with the budget limit; there are restrictions on the financial side. But still, these employees are offered double and more than what we give, and they hold a higher position than with us."
The FIA’s budget cap, introduced in 2021, was designed to limit the financial disparities between teams and ensure a more level playing field across the grid.
Helmut Marko with outgoing Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.
Red Bull, one of the wealthiest teams in the sport, has consistently operated near the upper limit of this cap, so Marko’s remarks raise the question of how teams operating under the same financial regulations can afford to offer such substantial salary increases to their new recruits.
According to Marko, this financial gap is one of the reasons why Red Bull has been unable to retain key figures like Newey and Wheatley, both of whom have been integral parts of the team’s success for nearly two decades.
"It means we just can’t hold on to everybody, even after a period of 17 years in the case of Adrian Newey. In the case of Jonathan Wheatley, I think we’re talking about 19 years."
Marko admits that losing long-serving team members who contributed to the team’s rise to dominance is painful, but he also recognizes that such moves are part of the sport.
"They were part of this team, they were part of the success, and then it hurts when they go,” he admitted.
“But it’s all about finances and great career opportunities. If you can’t offer the same, then it’s no different, and that’s the natural progression of things."
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