Helmut Marko

Marko was born in Graz on 27 April 1943, during Nazi-occupation of Austria. He was a school friend of Jochen Rindt, who later won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1970.^[1] Marko graduated from the University of Graz in 1967 with a doctorate in law.^[2] Marko owns four hotels in Graz – the Schlossberghotel, Augartenhotel, Lendhotel and Kai 36.

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

He had more success in endurance racing, winning the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving a Martini-Porsche 917K with Gijs van Lennep. During that year, they set a distance record which remained unbeaten until the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans (5,335.313 km, at an average of 222.304 km/h - changes to the track reduced the average speed.)

At the Targa Florio, 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 was 33 min 41 sec, at an average of 128.253 km/h.^[3]

Marko debuted in Formula One with Jo Bonnier's Ecurie Bonnier at the German Grand Prix, driving the McLaren M7C. He joined BRM for the remainder of the 1971 season, and retained his seat in 1972. Marko was seriously injured during the 1972 French Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand, held a few weeks after the Targa Florio, when debris from the March of Ronnie Peterson pierced his visor and left him permanently blinded in his left eye, ending his racing career aged 29.^{[a][4][5][6][7][8]}

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 and Formula 3000; running under the name Red Bull Junior Team from 1999 onwards. Since then, he has administered Red Bull's driver development programme, which has seen several drivers progress to Formula One, including Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz Jr., Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen. Marko's Formula One graduates have a combined eight World Drivers' Championship titles and 129 Grands Prix between them, with Vettel achieving the first in 2010. Since 2005, he has been an advisor to all Formula One teams owned by Red Bull, including Red Bull Racing (2005–present) and its sister team, RB (2024–present). RB previously raced with the names Toro Rosso (2006–2019) and AlphaTauri (2020–2023).^[9]

Marko faced scrutiny in September 2023 for his comments regarding Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Pérez's lack of form throughout the 2023 season, following the Italian Grand Prix. Talking to Red Bull-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 Max Verstappen is, or as Sebastian Vettel".^[10][11] Marko's comments were widely perceived as racially charged, with many pointing out that Pérez—a Mexican national—is not South American.^[11] Marko apologised on 8 September, stating "I was trying to make a point that [Pérez] has fluctuated in his performance this year, but it was wrong to attribute this to his cultural heritage."^[10][12] Pérez accepted Marko's apology on 14 September, despite the FIA reprimanding him the following day.^[13][14]

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

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• Formula One drivers from Austria

• Profile at grandprix.com