Helmut Marko makes McLaren and Williams connection to Red Bull downfall claim

Helmut Marko has said Red Bull’s focus should remain on Formula 1, to avoid the example of years gone by of performance going down when teams spread their resources.

The Red Bull senior advisor pointed to Williams and McLaren as examples of this, for expanding their horizons beyond Formula 1 and then saying “their performance went down” as a result, which he hopes to avoid himself.

Helmut Marko: Red Bull ‘have to focus on Formula 1’ to maintain performance

Red Bull has seen its performance advantage eroded by McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes over the course of the F1 2024 season so far, but looking more widely, Dr Marko was asked about what the future looks like for the team.

On that topic, he believes the most important thing for them is to keep its primary aim on Formula 1, so as to not drop off in performance compared to its rivals at a time when they are preparing to become fully fledged power unit manufacturers from the F1 2026 campaign.

“If you go back in history, whenever Williams started, or McLaren started, not only focusing on Formula 1, their performance went down,” Marko explained on the Inside Line F1 podcast.

“So, in our view, we have to focus on Formula 1. Yes, we will do the RB17, which is a very special car designed by Adrian Newey, but I think that’s a one-off project.

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“We are also involved in America’s Cup [sailing] and other things like that, but the focus should stay on Formula 1.

“And I think the next benchmark is we will have our own engine, which is an enormous, enormous project from the financial side and also from the managing side.

“So we will be now a real manufacturer, so that will start in 2026 and in the future, our focus will be on winning races.

“Yes, winning [while] racing with our own engine and make always a benchmark.

“You know, as in the beginning, we do it differently, and that should be also the aim for the future.

“Main goal is winning, but do it in a way which also gives new fuels, gives a new side of the sport to the public, and be different.”

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