“Take Helmut Marko away from the f**king team”: Former F1 manager urges Red Bull to get rid of the Austrian taskmaster

Former F1 team manager Joan Villadelprat recently gave his strong opinion on Helmut Marko at Red Bull. Marko has always come under a lot of criticism for his harsh and blunt comments on drivers' performances and several other aspects of Formula 1. Hence, the Austrian is not the most liked person in the paddock.

Villadelprat bluntly opined that Marko should straightaway be removed from Red Bull. He then dove deep into how certain team members need harsh comments like the one Marko made in order to get motivated and improve.

“Take Helmut Marko away from the f**king team. Every time he opens his mouth, the only thing he’s doing is hammering. It’s an area that you don’t need to talk about because, if things don’t go well and things are tough for a driver, you don’t need somebody telling you that you’re useless. When you’re a manager and you have a lot of people working with you, there are various ways of working. You have some people that you need to be behind, hammering them. That’s the way that you motivate them,” Villadelprat told PlanetF1.

Villadelprat further explained that Red Bull does not have such kinds of team members and drivers who need hammering. Rather, they need a helping hand whenever they make a mistake. Hence, Marko's strong comments criticizing the drivers will not help them. Villadelprat also feels that Sergio Perez is the best second driver for Red Bull at the moment.

“But you have people that you don’t need to hammer. When they make a mistake, you pick up the pieces and put them back again. So help him to get back into the place. That’s what a manager should be doing. That’s what Christian is supposed to be doing. But, at the moment right now, there is no better choice than Checo [Perez] for Red Bull,” he added.

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Red Bull team boss on his relationship with Helmut Marko amid rumored tension between the two

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently opened up on his relationship with the team's advisor Helmut Marko. Horner clearly debunked any and all rumors about there being a tense relationship between the two by stating that they have a strong and open relationship.

Horner also mentioned how Marko gave him the opportunity to be in the position he is in currently.

"Without Helmut, I wouldn't be in the position that I am today. Like with the young drivers that he has given an opportunity, he also gave me that opportunity. We've always enjoyed a very strong and open relationship. Of course, there are things that we disagree on now and again, but I think that's healthy," he said in an exclusive conversation with Mirror Sport.

Helmut Marko is part of the wider Red Bull group and Christian Horner cannot be the one to decide whether he gets removed from his senior position or not. Furthermore, Horner has clearly mentioned that he would want to see Marko stay in the team for as long as possible.