Oliver Goethe is Germany’s next Formula 1 hope, but Red Bull’s Helmut Marko still sees some room for improvement
The unexpected rise of Franco Colapinto has also had positive effects for a German, who is now a step closer to Formula 1. We are talking about Oliver Goethe, who took over Colapinto’s place in Formula 2 because he is allowed to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams in the final phase of the season.
This makes Goethe, alongside Nico Hülkenberg and Mick Schumacher, the German who is closest to a cockpit in the premier class and who is approaching the hopes of becoming the next German regular driver in Formula 1. But Helmut Marko warns: “That wouldn’t have happened otherwise,” he says about the next step up made possible by Colapinto.
Marko currently has a hand on the career of the 19-year-old, who was born in London and has both German and Danish citizenship, under which he was still traveling until a few years ago.
For some time now, Goethe, who is said to be a distant descendant of the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, has been competing under the flag of his father’s home country – and since November 2023, he has also been competing under the banner of Red Bull, which has taken him on as a driver.
However, there is still a long way to go before we see a repeat of the Sebastian Vettel scenario, because apart from the Imola weekend, when Goethe finished first and second, his second full Formula 3 season was rather mixed.
The Campos driver only made it onto the podium once and finished seventh in the overall standings – behind rookie Arvid Lindblad, among others, who is highly regarded by Red Bull.
German is still a problem
His surprise promotion to Formula 2 was an opportunity for him, but he was unable to shine in the first two weekends. He has yet to score any points, and the sprint race in Monza and the main race in Baku were over for him before the first corner.
The incident that triggered a red flag at the start of the F2 Feature Race
Drivers ok F2 AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/VFjNA8M3SQ
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) September 15, 2024
So he still has some work to do in terms of sports and German. For marketing reasons, Red Bull would like to see Goethe reflect on his German roots and master the language – but he can currently only do so “a little”.
“He’s docked somewhere in Germany over the summer and has guaranteed me that he can now practically read at least one book in German,” says Marko. ‘But we speak English in the context of Formula 2.’
Irvine and Hunt light?
Red Bull would also like to work on Goethe’s attitude, who, according to Marko, is “like a colorful, young dog” and “in terms of approach” almost comes across like Eddie Irvine or James Hunt. “But not with this intensity,” says the Austrian.
“I have very positive approaches, but at some point he has to show seriousness,” he clarifies.
Marko would not say that Goethe is the next German in the Formula 1 series: ‘Tramnitz has the same chances,’ he emphasizes.
He is referring to Tim Tramnitz, also a 19-year-old Formula 3 driver who joined the Red Bull squad at the end of last year. The Hamburg native contested his first Formula 3 season in 2024 and finished ninth overall with a victory at Monza and three further podiums.