Helmut Marko confirms that Franz Tost could have imagined bringing Mick Schumacher to AlphaTauri, but that he vetoed the idea
Helmut Marko has admitted that it was he who prevented Mick Schumacher from joining AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) before the 2023 season. The then boss of Red Bull’s B team, Franz Tost, could have imagined Schumacher as Pierre Gasly’s successor. But Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport consultant, vetoed the idea.
When asked whether this media representation – i.e. Tost pro, Marko contra Schumacher – was correct, Marko now answers in an interview on the Formula1.de YouTube channel: “It was correct.” At the same time, however, the 80-year-old Austrian clarifies: “This has nothing to do with him personally.”
Marko believes that Schumacher is “a very eloquent, well-mannered, polite young man who had his chances” and who “in terms of age and his entire history” as a Ferrari Junior would not have fitted into the “overall image of AlphaTauri” and the Red Bull Junior squad.
AlphaTauri unexpectedly had a cockpit available for 2023 because Pierre Gasly was released from his contract at his own request so that he could switch to Alpine. “Logically, I thought of Mick Schumacher”,
At the time, Tost was of the opinion that Schumacher was “much better than he is currently perceived in the outside world”. However, the team boss, who was Ralf Schumacher’s personal advisor during his time at Weber Management, was unable to assert his preference
When asked whether Mick Schumacher currently plays any role in the Racing Bulls’ future plans, Marko answers unequivocally: “No.” The team is well positioned in terms of young drivers: “With Lawson, we have a very good junior in the queue. We have Hadjar in Formula 2, who is absolutely at the front. And we have Lindblad in Formula 3 at the age of 16.”
The entire interview with Helmut Marko (32 minutes) will be available to all users free of charge on the Formula1.de YouTube channel from Saturday. Channel members can already watch the video in full length now, even without commercial breaks during the preview period until Saturday.
