For years, Helmut Marko has been the sharp-edged conscience of Red Bull Racing. He spotted Max Verstappen when he was just a teenager. He pushed him into a Toro Rosso seat at seventeen, years earlier than most F1 drivers get their shot. And he stood by him through every storm. But all those years later, today, that same mentorship is being questioned.

He built the junior program that spat out Sebastian Vettel and then Max, and he never apologized for cutting anyone who wasn’t fast enough. Love him or hate him, Marko was Red Bull. So after Verstappen’s upset title loss, when whispers started that the 82-year-old boss might be done, people stopped scrolling and started listening.

Helmut Marko’s era looks like it’s over

Word out of Europe is that Marko is retiring, and it’s not a “maybe” a

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