Horner settles scores with Helmut Marko in his autobiography

A little over a year ago, Christian Horner's tenure as Red Bull Racing's Team Principal came to an end.

The 52-year-old Brit used his time off, among other things, to write his autobiography "Drive". Even though the book is not due out until October 22, the work is already casting its shadow ahead. This is because Horner already provided an advance copy to the "Times" as part of an interview.

In his autobiography, the Briton apparently settles scores with long-standing associates from the F1 environment. Motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko also faces fierce criticism. According to the newspaper, the now 83-year-old Styrian is described as "gruff, unpredictable, cold, unreliable, ruthless, and fundamentally disloyal," as a puppet master without empathy and with the "urge to leak internal information."

Horner: "I felt like I had to mop up the shit"

Marko's "polarizing favoritism for individual drivers harmed the team," claims the 52-year-old. Horner explains in the "Times" interview what lies behind this statement: "That's not how I would have handled things. I felt like I constantly had to mop up the shit."

He also doesn't mince words about Jos Verstappen, Max's father. The Dutchman was an impatient troublemaker, about whom Marko is also said to have remarked: "The father is a nightmare. We don't need him." That the Styrian also supposedly didn't get along with Jos Verstappen is surprising given several private meetings they had together.

Horner describes Marko's behaviour in the summer of 2025, when Red Bull parted ways with the Briton as Team Principal, as particularly lacking in empathy. Marko had "stayed at my house just a few days before and spent time with my family," Horner recounts in the interview, "and yet not a single word was said about it."