Helmut Marko, who mentored Verstappen, retires from F1 at age 82

SALZBURG, Austria (AP) — Red Bull's influential auto racing adviser Helmut Marko is retiring from his role at the age of 82, ending a 20-year stint in which he helped Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen develop into four-time Formula 1 champions.

Marko's departure leaves Red Bull without the two main guiding personalities from its 2005 entry into F1 after longtime team principal Christian Horner was ousted in July and replaced by Laurent Mekies.

Marko leaves after Verstappen missed out on winning a fifth title at last week's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“Narrowly missing out on the world championship this season has moved me deeply and made it clear to me that now is the right moment for me personally to end this very long, intense, and successful chapter,” Marko said in a statement.

An F1 driver in the early 1970s before he was blinded in one eye when a rock pierced his helmet visor, Marko was an influential figure in team politics and close to his fellow Austrian, Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in 2022.

Marko's blunt style and criticism of drivers sometimes led to controversy. In 2023, he apologized to then-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez for comments which suggested his Mexican heritage was to blame for inconsistent results on the track.

On behalf of the wider Red Bull corporate group, Marko oversaw its driver development program for two decades. He guided drivers such as Verstappen and Vettel through junior series to F1 debuts with Red Bull's second team, variously known over the years as Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and Racing Bulls.

Former Red Bull junior drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda were both largely uncompetitive this year alongside Verstappen, and another graduate of the program, Isack Hadjar, has been promoted to that role for next year.

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