Interview with Helmut Marko - Exclusively on the Inside Line F1 Podcast

Who better than Dr. Helmut Marko to narrate Red Bull's origins in Formula 1 - from a team/driver sponsor to owning a Formula 1 team and then owning two! From participating in races to claiming pole positions and races wins - and then of course, World Championships.

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When: 9th July, 6.30 pm onward (IST)

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In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Dr. Helmut Marko joins Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah for an in-depth conversation around Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Junior Team, his conversations with Dietrich Mateschitz, his love for art and more.

We talk about Red Bull Racing's successes with Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and dissect just how Helmut Marko assess driver talent - how much of it is instinct and how much is data and so on.

Tune in!

(Season 2023, Episode 31)

Follow our host on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah

Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool

**Navigating the Nuances of Driver Assessment and the Red Bull Driver Academy**

In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Dr. Helmut Marko joins Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah for an in-depth conversation about Red Bull Racing, the Red Bull Junior Team, his conversations with Dietrich Mateschitz, and his passion for art.

**The Genesis of Red Bull Racing**

Dr. Marko narrates the origins of Red Bull's involvement in Formula 1, from being a team/driver sponsor to owning a Formula 1 team and then eventually owning two. He highlights the journey from participating in races to claiming pole positions and race wins, culminating in World Championships.

**Red Bull Racing's Success with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen**

The discussion delves into Red Bull Racing's successes with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. Dr. Marko shares his insights into the team's achievements, emphasizing the importance of finding drivers who can not only win Grand Prix but also challenge for championships.

**Dr. Marko's Approach to Assessing Driver Talent**

A key topic of the conversation is Dr. Marko's approach to assessing driver talent. He describes the "Helmut Lab," a dedicated facility where he evaluates drivers based on their instinct, data, and overall approach to racing. Dr. Marko emphasizes the importance of speed, instinct, and the ability to handle pressure as crucial factors in his assessment.

**The Red Bull Junior Team: A Pathway to Success**

The podcast explores the Red Bull Junior Team, a program that has produced several successful Formula 1 drivers. Dr. Marko explains the origins of the academy, its mission to support young drivers, and the criteria for selecting drivers into the program. He also discusses the importance of providing drivers with the necessary resources and guidance to succeed.

**The Role of Data and Simulation in Driver Development**

The conversation touches upon the role of data and simulation in driver development. Dr. Marko acknowledges the significance of data and telemetry but emphasizes the importance of instinct and the ability to make quick decisions under pressure. He believes that while simulators can be useful, they cannot fully replicate the challenges of real-world racing.

**Dealing with Driver Pressure and Performance Issues**

Dr. Marko sheds light on his approach to dealing with driver pressure and performance issues. He stresses the importance of open communication and individual discussions with drivers to understand their challenges and provide support. He also highlights the need for drivers to take responsibility for their mistakes and learn from them.

**The Annual Cost of Running the Red Bull Junior Team**

When asked about the annual cost of running the Red Bull Junior Team, Dr. Marko explains that the amount varies depending on factors such as driver performance, team negotiations, and the level of support provided. He emphasizes that Red Bull offers competitive conditions and pays a significant portion of the costs, but the exact amount is not disclosed.

**Red Bull Racing's Mid-Season Driver Changes**

The podcast addresses Red Bull Racing's reputation for making mid-season driver changes. Dr. Marko acknowledges that such changes can occur based on driver performance and the team's overall goals. He highlights the importance of having a strong driver lineup and making decisions that benefit the team's championship aspirations. - In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Dr. Helmut Marko joins Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah for an in-depth conversation about Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Junior Team, his conversations with Dietrich Mateschitz, his love for art, and more.


- Marko discusses the Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri driver selection process, emphasizing performance and data analysis.


- He reveals that Nick de Vries was considered for AlphaTauri but ultimately did not fit their philosophy as a junior team.


- Marko explains the decision to purchase Minardi and the subsequent challenges faced due to a rule change that prohibited the use of the same chassis for both teams.


- He highlights the importance of synergies between Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri, with the goal of utilizing technical expertise and resources from the senior team to enhance the performance of the junior team.


- Marko addresses the culture of performance and accountability within the Red Bull driver program, emphasizing the need for drivers to deliver results and demonstrate their potential.


- He reflects on the impact of Alex Albon's misfortunes in Brazil and Austria, which affected his confidence and ultimately led to the decision to bring in Sergio Perez.


- Marko shares his diverse interests and hobbies outside of Formula One, including collecting art, working in his forest, and reading extensively.


- He reveals that he is an early riser and values efficiency, often starting his day with phone calls early in the morning.


- Marko expresses his appreciation for the opportunity to share his thoughts and experiences on the podcast and engages in a discussion about his favorite book, "The Man Without Qualities" by Robert Musil.

[00:00.000 -> 00:22.480] That's right everyone, this is the big one.
[00:22.480 -> 00:24.880] Welcome to the InsideLineF1 podcast.
[00:24.880 -> 00:26.000] My name is Somal Arora.
[00:26.000 -> 00:28.000] I'm the host of the Indian Racing League broadcasts.
[00:28.000 -> 00:30.000] Joining me as always is Kunal Shah,
[00:30.000 -> 00:32.000] the former marketing head of the
[00:32.000 -> 00:34.000] Ford India F1 team,
[00:34.000 -> 00:36.000] former head of the Ford India Driver Academy
[00:36.000 -> 00:38.000] and today Kunal,
[00:38.000 -> 00:40.000] we're getting someone who does
[00:40.000 -> 00:42.000] a similar job to what he used to in the past.
[00:42.000 -> 00:44.000] Who is it? Tell the people.
[00:44.000 -> 00:45.880] Similar job to what I used to do in the past,
[00:45.880 -> 00:50.000] just 100X and for the last 30, 40 years
[00:50.000 -> 00:51.740] that he's been doing so, yes,
[00:51.740 -> 00:54.400] the buzz on social media actually delivers.
[00:54.400 -> 00:57.760] We've got Helmut Marko in this episode,
[00:57.760 -> 01:00.400] the next hour full of insights.
[01:00.400 -> 01:02.040] And before you guys wonder,
[01:02.040 -> 01:04.440] no, we did not record this
[01:04.440 -> 01:08.300] at an unearthly hour in the morning, which is typical Helmut Marko.
[01:08.300 -> 01:18.600] But Samuel, you know, to me, the biggest insight was when he described what was the called or what is still called the Helmut Lab when he speaks of driver assessment.
[01:18.600 -> 01:38.000] Yeah, and he describes more on how he judges drivers as well, what he likes in a racing driver, what he doesn't like in a racing driver that prompts him to change the mid-season and so much more on why the Red Bull Academy began, so much more on Seb as well and also what does Helmut Marker do in his free time?
[01:38.000 -> 01:39.000] Let's find out.
[01:43.840 -> 01:49.440] Dr. Marco, firstly, it's such an honor to be chatting with you. I was just recording after Red Bull Racing has secured their 100th Grand Prix win in
[01:49.440 -> 01:53.760] Formula 1 and you've seen all of them in person.
[01:53.760 -> 01:56.960] Firstly before we begin with chatting about the story of Red Bull, I just want to know
[01:56.960 -> 02:01.280] your take on this because 100, 100 is a lot.
[02:01.280 -> 02:05.280] Did you ever imagine when you started out that this number would be even closely possible?
[02:06.160 -> 02:14.880] No. You know when the decision was done and Mr. Matteschitz decided to buy Jaguar Racing,
[02:15.680 -> 02:26.000] which was a not very successful midfield team, I told him there is a possibility to buy this team. We were sponsoring
[02:26.000 -> 02:35.000] Klien at Jaguar and through the negotiation it was obvious that the whole team is for sale.
[02:35.000 -> 02:46.600] So I said let's try to do it, maybe we win the Grand Prix. That was the approach how we went. But actually I'm so curious about the
[02:46.600 -> 02:51.640] whole thing because not many people know this Dr. Marko but you started the
[02:51.640 -> 02:55.840] Red Bull driver Academy six years before the Red Bull racing team actually
[02:55.840 -> 02:59.760] started in the first place so what's that whole story and how did you
[02:59.760 -> 03:06.960] actually end up meeting Dietrich in the first place and how did this whole discussion come about?
[03:17.920 -> 03:27.800] You know Mr. Matteschitz is from the same area in Styria, very near to the Red Bull Ring, so there was a connection and I don't know exactly how it happened, but motor racing is expensive
[03:27.800 -> 03:35.800] so Mr. Matteschitz said, let's do something for the young people so that they can afford this sport
[03:35.800 -> 03:45.000] and that's why we started the Red Bull Junior Team, and it was mainly to support young drivers.
[03:46.000 -> 03:53.000] But when first Red Bull bought Jaguar and a little bit later Minardi,
[03:53.000 -> 04:00.000] the approach was a different one. We said, okay, now we have to have a goal
[04:00.000 -> 04:04.000] and the goal is we must find drivers who can win a Grand Prix.
[04:04.000 -> 04:08.000] Not only is that we support who can win a Grand Prix. Not only is it important to win a Grand Prix.
[04:08.000 -> 04:11.000] To win a Grand Prix is a criteria.
[04:11.000 -> 04:14.000] To win a championship you never can predict.
[04:14.000 -> 04:16.000] It's depending on the whole package.
[04:16.000 -> 04:18.000] How good is your chassis?
[04:18.000 -> 04:20.000] How good is the engine?
[04:20.000 -> 04:22.000] How strong is the driver?
[04:22.000 -> 04:23.000] But that was the aim.
[04:23.000 -> 04:25.000] So we changed the approach.
[04:25.000 -> 04:30.000] We were going for more performance,
[04:30.000 -> 04:35.000] and if the people didn't perform, we had to stop our support.
[04:36.000 -> 04:39.000] And then it was melting together.
[04:39.000 -> 04:43.000] Junior team, Formula One, everything came together.
[04:44.000 -> 04:49.000] It was of course perfect with Minardi or in the early days,
[04:49.000 -> 04:57.000] Toro Rosso. The aim was to give young drivers a chance,
[04:57.000 -> 05:02.000] because in a top team, you can't go in a top team without any experience.
[05:02.000 -> 05:06.080] And there was Franz Stolzos who did his job very well
[05:06.080 -> 05:11.880] and looking to the past, you know, we have now Vettel with four championships, we have
[05:11.880 -> 05:16.800] Max with two, hopefully a third is pretty soon following.
[05:16.800 -> 05:30.560] So the whole system was a success and it was not only on the driver side, we also started with a new approach
[05:30.560 -> 05:35.080] we said we would like to do it different and one thing was Christian Horner who didn't
[05:35.080 -> 05:43.000] have any experience as a F1 team principal but he was very successful in Formula 3000
[05:43.000 -> 05:46.960] and from there we built it from scratch I would say. Actually it's so
[05:46.960 -> 05:51.200] interesting you've scouted drivers and a team principal as well very interesting.
[05:54.080 -> 05:59.120] On that front actually I want to start out at the very beginning because with RSM Markur right
[05:59.120 -> 06:03.920] that's after you got done with your racing career I read in the middle that you managed some top
[06:03.920 -> 06:07.520] drivers like Gerhard Berger and Karl Wettlinger and then you started your
[06:07.520 -> 06:11.200] junior team but was that how Mr. Mattheschutz approached you? Like hey I
[06:11.200 -> 06:17.360] have an idea why don't we do something? It must have been something like that I
[06:17.360 -> 06:30.060] can't remember exactly. He was in Graz where I live and he stayed in the Schwarzberg Hotel and we had a presentation
[06:30.060 -> 06:37.760] of Carl Weindringer's F3 outfit and there the discussion started.
[06:37.760 -> 06:42.000] And then in the end it was why couldn't we do something together.
[06:42.000 -> 06:45.560] Dr. Margo on that front you must have looked at it and been like wait
[06:45.560 -> 06:50.940] Why do you want to do this? Because again as it's so absurd right if you tell it to any
[06:51.280 -> 06:58.020] Outsider that there is an energy drink brand that sponsored drivers and then had their own team and won so many championships
[06:58.020 -> 07:03.520] It just sounds absurd, but did it ever click to you that hey this this is not as weird as it sounds
[07:04.800 -> 07:05.160] It's a little bit weird. Yes, I agree Did it ever click to you that, hey, this is not as weird as it sounds?
[07:08.120 -> 07:08.560] It's a little bit weird, yes, I agree.
[07:10.600 -> 07:11.600] But we have to come further back.
[07:16.560 -> 07:16.680] St. Marijn in Mürnstal, that's the place where Matte Schitz lived,
[07:20.880 -> 07:21.440] is very near to a Heaplamp race, which is called Alpe race.
[07:27.680 -> 07:33.160] And in the early 60s, Jochen Rindt, you know, the world champion, the first Austrian world champion raced and Matteschitz watched this race and there were also
[07:33.160 -> 07:39.520] little ice races, you know, in winter when the fields were frozen and ski errands
[07:39.520 -> 07:49.160] with spikes and things like that. So there was already a passion which was in Mr. Matyszczyk's mind
[07:49.160 -> 07:56.280] or however you say and when his company was getting successful he was of course
[07:56.280 -> 08:08.800] always a fan of extreme sports and so motor racing was a clear, good opportunity to place the product placements.
[08:08.800 -> 08:15.400] And then with a lot of passion, but the main thing, we both had the passion, the passion for motor racing.
[08:15.400 -> 08:30.000] And that went through all the development, it was always the passion which was driving him, was driving me, and we wanted success, but
[08:30.000 -> 08:38.200] in a, not success under all circumstances, success which is built up and which, yeah,
[08:38.200 -> 08:45.800] which also was fun, you know, I remember the first championship with Vettel, it was such a surprise in Abu Dhabi.
[08:45.800 -> 08:50.920] He was not the favorite, favorite was Alonso.
[08:50.920 -> 08:54.240] The man with the second most points was Weber.
[08:54.240 -> 08:59.160] So it wasn't decided, this is the very last lap, if we win or not.
[08:59.160 -> 09:01.240] The same happened to Krumpf.
[09:01.240 -> 09:06.200] All this emotion, that's part of our DNA.
[09:06.200 -> 09:07.640] I love it.
[09:07.640 -> 09:13.080] And so many of those wins achieved by Red Bull have also been by your graduates, drivers
[09:13.080 -> 09:14.460] that you've brought up.
[09:14.460 -> 09:19.300] But on that, I wanted to talk about your team as well, RSM Marco.
[09:19.300 -> 09:21.240] Why did you set it up in the first place?
[09:21.240 -> 09:24.160] And there were so many great drivers that you competed with over there as well.
[09:24.160 -> 09:28.040] Like in 1989, your first season, you folks raced against Michael Schumacher
[09:28.040 -> 09:34.240] in Formula 3000. It was quite a name to have. Yeah, yeah, and the year before we won it,
[09:34.240 -> 09:41.480] even with the Alfa Romeo engine. So Alfa Tito was complete opposite to the others, you know.
[09:41.480 -> 09:46.480] They were using Opry engines and Renault chassis, which were more advanced, but know, they were using Opel Hs and Renault Chassis, which were more advanced.
[09:46.480 -> 09:51.360] But yeah, the Austrians seem to like it, to do it our own way.
[09:51.360 -> 09:59.360] So I think I started the team because of the Austrian drivers, they didn't have the budget
[09:59.360 -> 10:00.760] you need for a top team.
[10:00.760 -> 10:04.080] So I said, okay, let's do it ourself.
[10:04.080 -> 10:05.640] And it started with Berger, it
[10:05.640 -> 10:12.920] started with Müller and it started with Wendlinger so yeah it's so long ago I
[10:12.920 -> 10:21.160] don't know all these details anymore but it all helped to get this success because it was
[10:21.160 -> 10:25.680] experience very good experience so all this knowledge was brought
[10:25.680 -> 10:31.080] into the Red Bull project. I love this one thing about the Austrian motorsport community
[10:31.080 -> 10:36.040] that firstly everyone's so, on the outside it seems very united, but Dr. Mark I want
[10:36.040 -> 10:40.440] to know something very interesting from you. There's you, there's Jochen Rindt, there's
[10:40.440 -> 10:46.080] Niki Lauda, there's Toto Wolf and countless other Austrian people who have been involved in
[10:46.080 -> 10:51.520] motorsports so well and have also had a great inclination towards business. What's this
[10:51.520 -> 10:56.400] combination like? What's there in the air of Austria that creates so many great examples of
[10:56.400 -> 11:00.560] great businessmen and great motorsport people? Is there something like, is it must be the food,
[11:01.120 -> 11:05.560] the wind or something like that? No, no, it's...
[11:06.040 -> 11:10.600] I think we are a very small country, you know, 8 million people.
[11:11.240 -> 11:15.640] We don't have our own automotive industry.
[11:16.200 -> 11:18.560] And people think,
[11:18.640 -> 11:23.840] Oskar is romantic and Mozart and Schubert, things like that.
[11:24.480 -> 11:28.000] But we are... Some people have to work harder,
[11:28.000 -> 11:33.000] they have to be more creative to achieve something.
[11:33.000 -> 11:37.000] And there is this, I mean, coming back to Jan Rindt,
[11:37.000 -> 11:41.000] I was in school with him, in a boarding school,
[11:41.000 -> 11:45.680] and he fortunately had the financial backing to go into
[11:45.680 -> 11:51.040] international racing but at that time from Austria to go to England that was
[11:51.040 -> 11:56.680] like a journey to the moon you know our English was not very good and we didn't
[11:56.680 -> 12:01.880] have only local races like I mentioned before hill climbing and when he was
[12:01.880 -> 12:07.000] winning internationally especially in the beginning, F2 in Austria, all of a sudden,
[12:07.000 -> 12:13.000] oh, we are a small country and we are so proud and we can achieve internationally.
[12:13.000 -> 12:17.000] And then one came to the other. We built the circuit, the Red Bull Ring.
[12:17.000 -> 12:20.000] At that time it was the Austerreich Ring.
[12:20.000 -> 12:32.160] Yeah, one came do the other. As I said, passionate people who like to like the challenge and if they see a possibility,
[12:32.160 -> 12:33.680] they will fight for it.
[12:33.680 -> 12:34.680] I love it.
[12:34.680 -> 12:38.880] And there's, and since then, there's been so many great drivers as well.
[12:38.880 -> 12:44.120] But I want to talk more about Austrians in the present sense in a little bit later.
[12:44.120 -> 12:50.440] But I really want to talk about Red Bull at the moment because the whole setup right from being a driver
[12:50.440 -> 12:56.600] sponsor to a team sponsor within an academy to then to then also a finally a team themselves.
[12:56.600 -> 13:01.200] Did it seem like a logical step along the way or was it just surprise after surprise
[13:01.200 -> 13:08.120] that hey, we can now do this as well. all along were you confused that okay how much independence will I get because at the
[13:08.120 -> 13:11.760] end of the day it definitely is a company that deals in something else
[13:11.760 -> 13:15.160] right so did you feel like okay I'll get total independence to do whatever I I
[13:15.160 -> 13:20.600] want to with this program? No as I said in the beginning when Jaguar was bought
[13:20.600 -> 13:26.360] the boss said let's do it differently. So in the beginning yes we
[13:26.360 -> 13:33.920] got established driver like David Coulthard and then Mark Webber, but it was
[13:33.920 -> 13:39.680] clear we wanted to have the success with our young drivers which we found and
[13:39.680 -> 13:46.440] which we are bringing through the ranks up to Formula One.
[13:51.040 -> 13:51.800] We had a lot of independence from the boss.
[13:56.480 -> 14:00.560] It was just I explained what roughly we are doing and it was yes or no within minutes.
[14:00.560 -> 14:02.960] There was no discussion.
[14:05.160 -> 14:12.440] There was no discussion. And I would like to sign Verstappen for this very long-term contract in 2022.
[14:12.440 -> 14:15.400] I think it was a good chance.
[14:15.400 -> 14:28.640] Verstappen, who is our biggest outfit, our important thing, also as a motivator for the whole team and so on.
[14:28.640 -> 14:31.080] So how much does it cost?
[14:31.080 -> 14:32.080] It was not cheap.
[14:32.080 -> 14:34.400] Yes, we do it.
[14:34.400 -> 14:38.520] So that was no big business plan meeting.
[14:38.520 -> 14:44.560] Of course, when the company became bigger and bigger, there had been yearly business
[14:44.560 -> 14:46.000] plan meetings and so on,
[14:46.000 -> 14:55.400] where the general line was fixed, but if something extra happened, or some speciality or some opportunity came up,
[14:55.400 -> 15:00.120] it was always like that, also with driver decisions and so on.
[15:00.120 -> 15:06.320] So we had a lot of... I think that's part of the success of Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri
[15:06.320 -> 15:09.920] that both teams were acting very independently
[15:09.920 -> 15:15.280] and fortunately with the new management now, we have the same freedom
[15:15.280 -> 15:19.200] and it helped a lot to achieve the success we have.
[15:19.200 -> 15:23.280] On that, I wanted to ask a very interesting question.
[15:23.280 -> 15:26.640] What's the longest meeting you've had with Mr. Mathis Schatz?
[15:26.640 -> 15:32.440] And what was it about? Because if Verstappen is signing for, what is it, six years can be such a short discussion.
[15:32.440 -> 15:34.440] I wonder what the long meetings are about.
[15:35.960 -> 15:40.280] The longest meeting was when there was
[15:41.040 -> 15:43.040] a plan to
[15:44.120 -> 15:52.420] cooperate with Porsche and it was a brilliant idea for marketing
[15:52.420 -> 15:59.200] both brands are really big and from marketing point of view would have been
[15:59.200 -> 16:06.000] and unfortunately it didn't work out and that had been the longest discussions I have had
[16:06.000 -> 16:07.000] with him.
[16:07.000 -> 16:09.120] And it looked like it went on for a long time as well, right?
[16:09.120 -> 16:14.840] We had the news, the rumours at least, announced so early and then the news coming out later.
[16:14.840 -> 16:19.400] How, it must have taken so much of the team's mental willpower, right?
[16:19.400 -> 16:23.160] Because you're fighting for a world championship on one side and then coordinating so many
[16:23.160 -> 16:29.000] different deals and then how draining is it to do all of that? As long as you have the
[16:29.000 -> 16:37.280] main focus on winning then it's clear and the rest is yeah it's daily business
[16:37.280 -> 16:42.360] I would say or sometimes a little bit more than daily business but the main
[16:42.360 -> 16:46.000] focus always was on winning, on winning.
[16:46.000 -> 16:55.000] And that was also during, I mean, let's come to the seven tough years we had when the new engine regulations came.
[16:55.000 -> 17:11.160] We had won with Vettel, I don't know, 13 races or something like that. It was a dominant season. Renault promised us, because of their experience with turbocharger and competitive engine,
[17:11.160 -> 17:15.480] and then the first test in, I remember, in Jarama.
[17:15.480 -> 17:20.520] It was a disaster and Mercedes was so far ahead.
[17:20.520 -> 17:26.240] It was reliability, horsepower, and in this years to keep the team together
[17:26.240 -> 17:31.800] to keep the motivation knowing you can't win under normal circumstances because
[17:31.800 -> 17:39.160] the engine is so much better but we suffered a lot but we overcame it
[17:39.160 -> 17:44.200] fortunately. I want to ask you about that for a second because on the outside Dr.
[17:44.200 -> 17:48.220] Marko it looks like you just managed to drive at Academy but clearly as you're
[17:48.220 -> 17:51.880] explaining there's a lot of your involvement in the strategic decisions
[17:51.880 -> 17:57.300] as well about what engine partners to go for, driver negotiations and also keeping
[17:57.300 -> 18:00.780] the team together but how involved are you on these fronts on a day-to-day
[18:00.780 -> 18:14.400] basis and what mostly takes up your time in your current role? I mean I was a connection between Red Bull Racing and Austria you know and the
[18:14.400 -> 18:21.040] main decisions were done here in Austria and yeah I was quite heavily involved in all of that.
[18:21.040 -> 18:26.720] Great to hear the story.
[18:26.720 -> 18:29.080] And we could actually just go deeper
[18:29.080 -> 18:34.120] into the Red Bull Driver Academy, Dr. Marko.
[18:34.120 -> 18:38.200] As you know, driver academies are of extreme interest to me
[18:38.200 -> 18:40.760] as well, given my background of having done it
[18:40.760 -> 18:43.920] at a very small scale at the Force India F1 team.
[18:43.920 -> 18:46.480] But who was the first
[18:46.480 -> 18:51.960] ever driver that you actually signed up to the junior team? We know Christian Klein was
[18:51.960 -> 18:56.280] the first one to make it to Formula One, but who was the first driver you actually signed
[18:56.280 -> 19:12.520] up with a lot of speed, a lot of
[19:12.520 -> 19:20.200] talent, but in the end it didn't work out.
[19:20.200 -> 19:25.000] Speed alone, talent alone is not enough. You have to be a hard worker.
[19:25.000 -> 19:30.000] You have to commit yourself 110%.
[19:30.000 -> 19:33.000] So we had a lot of talents.
[19:33.000 -> 19:48.080] And I have to say, I would say 98% of the drivers which didn't make it to Formula One, they are now in categories like sports car, Formula E,
[19:48.080 -> 19:53.080] or GT, and they do what they love, and they earn money.
[19:53.840 -> 19:57.000] And most of them are earning more money
[19:57.000 -> 20:01.360] what they could earn in a normal job, you know, daily job.
[20:01.360 -> 20:04.320] So, even so, not everybody,
[20:04.320 -> 20:07.340] or only a few made it to Formula One, it was a
[20:07.340 -> 20:13.880] very good education and it was the start for a career which he couldn't have done
[20:13.880 -> 20:19.620] without Red Bull. And you know basically it's called Red Bull Junior Team, it's just
[20:19.620 -> 20:28.640] a Red Bull Academy because now so many others are establishing academies, so we also have this name now.
[20:28.640 -> 20:36.240] You know, it's interesting you mentioned Vittante Onyoluidze because I worked with him fairly closely at the Force India F1 team,
[20:36.240 -> 20:40.760] which was the last team he sort of drove for after leaving the Red Bull Stables.
[20:40.760 -> 20:48.760] But, you know, there's this whole mystique around the Red Bull Academy that I really love, which
[20:48.760 -> 20:56.720] is simply down to what is the helmet Marco formula of choosing a young driver into the
[20:56.720 -> 20:57.720] program.
[20:57.720 -> 21:02.700] And like I said at the start of the show, Jehan Daruwala, Dennis Hauger, I know a few
[21:02.700 -> 21:06.160] drivers who have worked very closely with you, continue to do so,
[21:06.160 -> 21:10.080] but what's the Helmut Marko formula of finding a young,
[21:10.720 -> 21:12.720] really talented driver into the program?
[21:13.520 -> 21:20.640] First of all, I'm watching all the junior categories, the races, we also watch go-kart.
[21:22.480 -> 21:24.480] And then the
[21:29.320 -> 21:35.680] real thing which makes a difference is a discussion where I sit personally with the driver 20-30 minutes the only exception was Max with
[21:35.680 -> 21:48.840] him I was talking more than one hour an hour and a half I can't remember exactly so but the personal meeting is the most important
[21:48.840 -> 21:53.880] thing. And when you when you meet a driver personally you are of course
[21:53.880 -> 21:59.080] understanding the attitude and the personality and the motivations etc but
[21:59.080 -> 22:07.600] you know you come from an era of racing where instinct was very high. Now everything is data driven. You have
[22:07.600 -> 22:15.120] telemetry, you have transponder data, you have so many variables you can play with. So how do you
[22:15.680 -> 22:22.240] assess talent? Is it a mix of instinct and data? I'm trying to understand, yes,
[22:22.240 -> 22:25.440] you've met a driver, you spoke to several drivers,
[22:25.440 -> 22:32.240] you meet them for an hour or even 30 minutes, but what's that hook there? You're like, that's it,
[22:32.240 -> 22:36.240] that's the driver I would love to have on the program. I mean, you mentioned the words,
[22:36.240 -> 22:47.880] that we have a lot of drivers who are really good on the simulator, but reality is a different thing. But the main thing is, if there is, let's
[22:47.880 -> 22:56.160] go, three drivers are going into a corner and there's normally only one who will be
[22:56.160 -> 23:07.000] out of the corner first. And this, you know, if you have this instinct. Instinct is on top of everything with the speed.
[23:07.000 -> 23:14.000] You can be on simulator, data, and then there is one disadvantage for the drivers.
[23:14.000 -> 23:18.000] You know, you mentioned my old days or the old days.
[23:18.000 -> 23:23.000] We used, if we crashed, the throttle stuck, the tire went off.
[23:23.000 -> 23:25.520] All these excuses are not anymore.
[23:25.520 -> 23:32.480] So you know, everything you see, you see also, it is on the throttle,
[23:32.480 -> 23:35.520] not on the throttle in the fast corners and so on.
[23:35.520 -> 23:40.560] But if something is not optimal, then the driver makes a difference
[23:40.560 -> 23:50.000] and he has to grow, it's theoretical not possible, but you have to drive 110% and things like that.
[23:50.000 -> 24:07.520] And that's interpersonality or in the young days you don't have that and it not always develops as we would like it or as we thought it would be but the main thing is the speed, the instinct
[24:07.520 -> 24:16.760] and the approach how you go into racing. Very very insightful and you know can I
[24:16.760 -> 24:22.280] pull out an example say we pick Dennis Hauger the Norwegian Formula 2 driver
[24:22.280 -> 24:27.440] how much of a close contact do you keep with MP
[24:27.440 -> 24:31.720] Motorsport to understand Dennis's performance, you know, have his data
[24:31.720 -> 24:37.840] sheets and telemetry, like do you track driver progression session by session,
[24:37.840 -> 24:43.040] race by race or do you just say Dennis you got to finish on top in the
[24:43.040 -> 24:45.280] championship and then leave him to do it. I'm just trying to sort of, you got to finish on top in the championship and then leave him to do it.
[24:45.280 -> 24:52.280] I'm just trying to sort of, you know, go layer after layer to understand how you are assessing talent, Dr. Marko.
[24:52.280 -> 25:01.120] Once we decide to support, for example, Dennis is always a second season man.
[25:01.120 -> 25:10.040] It was in F3 like that so of course I watch the races we have in
[25:10.040 -> 25:17.240] Milton Keynes, Rocky who analyzes everything from the database, every
[25:17.240 -> 25:32.640] driver has to send me a record about the race and sometimes you wonder if it was the same race I watched. I get reports from the
[25:32.640 -> 25:49.360] teams so it's quite a spread of information and then you have to get the right conclusions. Or Hauke Bakke is leading the race and then there's a big crash
[25:49.360 -> 25:55.840] for the second and third guys, I forgot who it was and I was wondering where is Hauke, but he was
[25:56.640 -> 26:04.320] so far ahead with his crash you couldn't see it on TV. So we watched the performance of the teams
[26:10.000 -> 26:16.000] So, we watched the performance of the teams, which is in F2, for example, going up and down. But with Hauger, of course, there are personal discussions as well.
[26:16.000 -> 26:21.000] I explained to him, it's not enough what he's doing at the moment.
[26:21.000 -> 26:27.000] And, yeah, and then one stage you have to decide if you continue or not.
[26:27.000 -> 26:31.000] But he was fighting very strange, very...
[26:31.000 -> 26:35.000] Most of his career always with Jack DeWitt.
[26:35.000 -> 26:38.000] They were always close together.
[26:38.000 -> 26:42.000] And now I thought DeWitt would be a champion contender,
[26:42.000 -> 26:44.000] like I thought Hauker would be.
[26:44.000 -> 26:49.000] DeWitt is even more struggling in a very good team than Hauke is.
[26:49.000 -> 26:54.000] So, yeah, you have to compare the whole picture and see.
[26:54.000 -> 26:59.000] And there is sometimes development which you can't foresee.
[26:59.000 -> 27:01.000] And then comes the pressure.
[27:01.000 -> 27:08.160] And pressure is something you have to handle and the more you can
[27:08.160 -> 27:15.160] handle the pressure the better you will be in the upper formulas. It's not people
[27:15.160 -> 27:19.640] sometimes think, oh you just have to get the formula one sometimes is carrying
[27:19.640 -> 27:30.280] your helmet the other one is carrying your bag. It's not. You as a driver yourself, you have to carry a lot of baggage.
[27:30.280 -> 27:37.240] This is so interesting and you know I can keep digging but I can sense that there is
[27:37.240 -> 27:42.200] a magic formula that you bring to what you do and you clearly seem like a man who has
[27:42.200 -> 27:49.000] more than 24 hours in the day because you follow go-karts, you follow all the junior formula, all the reports, very
[27:49.000 -> 27:50.000] interesting.
[27:50.000 -> 27:54.960] Maybe we can send you a report for you to fill and tell us how you're enjoying this
[27:54.960 -> 27:58.080] episode with us, Dr. Bako.
[27:58.080 -> 28:07.800] But on a more serious note, you spoke about pressure. And Scott Speed recently was on the Beyond the Grid podcast,
[28:07.800 -> 28:09.960] the official F1 podcast, right?
[28:09.960 -> 28:14.240] And he said that Red Bull literally put every element
[28:14.240 -> 28:16.760] together in the team to help him succeed.
[28:16.760 -> 28:20.880] And he was speaking very high volumes of the whole process
[28:20.880 -> 28:23.800] and the whole sort of backup support
[28:23.800 -> 28:31.120] that Red Bull gives drivers to succeed. I wanted to sort of dig a little
[28:31.120 -> 28:36.680] further on that because when it comes to pressure, what's
[28:36.680 -> 28:41.880] your style of dealing with drivers? Do you sort of become a mentor and sort of
[28:41.880 -> 28:46.280] a psychologist to help them? How do you help drivers who
[28:46.280 -> 28:50.400] are struggling? Like how do you do you empathize with them? Do you sort of egg
[28:50.400 -> 28:57.880] them on saying there you go let's do it? Let's come generally, you know qualifying
[28:57.880 -> 29:05.120] is so important. So on our simulator at Ö Sam, we must have
[29:05.120 -> 29:11.440] the qualifying simulations. That's very important. They call it now the Helmholtz lab, which is just one lab.
[29:11.440 -> 29:16.180] And before it had been four labs, which is not good enough.
[29:16.480 -> 29:22.560] So, you know, we are trying also from simulation tools to make this pressure already
[29:23.000 -> 29:26.000] aware and you have to start with this.
[29:26.000 -> 29:34.000] And then it's individual, each driver is different and there are individual discussions,
[29:34.000 -> 29:45.560] there are discussions with the team owners and with both drivers. So this weekend I'm quite busy.
[29:45.560 -> 29:50.560] I start on Thursday lunchtime with a lot of team principles
[29:50.920 -> 29:54.600] of the lower categories, so mainly F2,
[29:54.600 -> 29:56.880] and with drivers, and we go through.
[29:57.920 -> 29:59.520] But that's individual.
[29:59.520 -> 30:02.200] It's not a system where you can say,
[30:02.200 -> 30:07.000] of course, the base is all the data, they all are on our
[30:07.000 -> 30:15.000] simulator, they are on the simulator of the teams, which individually we try to coordinate,
[30:15.000 -> 30:23.000] that the teams are cooperating with Red Bull Racing, there is always their worrying that
[30:23.000 -> 30:26.800] some information will go to the other, but that's not the case, you know.
[30:26.800 -> 30:29.800] It's just we are trying to achieve for everybody the best.
[30:29.800 -> 30:33.500] And at the moment it's far away from best.
[30:33.500 -> 30:35.300] We are very successful.
[30:35.300 -> 30:40.100] Every race is a podium with a F Red Bull F2 driver.
[30:40.100 -> 30:42.100] Unfortunately, it's never the same.
[30:42.100 -> 30:44.100] That's the big problem.
[30:48.560 -> 30:54.040] unfortunately it's never the same. I'm sure you have a fantastic driver headache with with the number of drivers you actually work with but you know very
[30:54.040 -> 31:00.640] interestingly what makes you impatient with a driver let's also get to a little
[31:00.640 -> 31:05.600] critical side of how you deal with things but what makes you impatient with the driver?
[31:05.600 -> 31:18.800] Well, hard car. In Baku, a car which was fast enough for winning and he crashed twice.
[31:18.800 -> 31:29.000] You know you can make a mistake but you shouldn't make it twice. And that is something which is not acceptable.
[31:29.000 -> 31:37.000] And now the pressure starts and Hacher can't deliver what he is theoretically capable of.
[31:37.000 -> 31:43.000] And you have to come out from such a situation.
[31:43.000 -> 31:48.480] It's even more difficult because most of these drivers are young,
[31:48.480 -> 31:52.680] so it's difficult for them.
[31:52.680 -> 31:55.080] First of all, they have the pressure of performing,
[31:55.080 -> 31:58.160] and then the pressure within the team.
[31:58.160 -> 32:00.840] And then they have to say,
[32:00.840 -> 32:05.360] OK, I made a stupid mistake, or I made it twice.
[32:05.360 -> 32:10.680] And to get out of this psychological deep, it's not easy.
[32:10.680 -> 32:14.280] We try to help, but then it starts, you know,
[32:14.280 -> 32:17.200] oh, the engineer didn't do what I would like,
[32:17.200 -> 32:19.920] the engineer said he didn't do what I told him.
[32:19.920 -> 32:27.600] So all sorts of accusations are starting, and you have to go back and say,
[32:27.600 -> 32:32.080] listen, success, we need the stopwatches, what matters.
[32:32.080 -> 32:36.080] And no arguments from fortunately the tires,
[32:36.080 -> 32:39.680] but then it comes, yeah, maybe my tire set was not optimal.
[32:39.680 -> 32:47.360] And so they're all looking for excuses, in the end it's a stopwatch.
[32:47.360 -> 32:53.880] Very interesting, you know you mentioned you work with a lot of young drivers
[32:53.880 -> 32:58.680] clearly it's the young driver program. There are lots of generational gaps
[32:58.680 -> 33:08.320] between you and them. How do you end up, how tricky is it to connect with the drivers of this era?
[33:10.160 -> 33:17.920] In the end it's a race car and you have to drive it as quick as possible and if sometimes I go to
[33:18.800 -> 33:32.800] some corners and I don't need a stopwatch to see who is fast and who isn't. So, okay, what changed is a lot of more electronics,
[33:32.800 -> 33:36.320] a lot of more control systems and so on,
[33:36.320 -> 33:41.920] but you see for example in the wet,
[33:41.920 -> 33:44.800] if you are starting, you see how much faster he is,
[33:44.800 -> 33:46.880] you don't need a stopwatch for it.
[33:46.880 -> 33:50.640] How smooth he is driving, and if he is sliding,
[33:50.640 -> 33:54.720] he provokes a power slide, which is pleasure to watch.
[33:54.720 -> 34:00.000] So, in the end, driving is still what matters.
[34:00.000 -> 34:00.880] Yeah.
[34:00.880 -> 34:04.000] Whatever technical support you have, in the end,
[34:04.000 -> 34:08.000] it's your control of the throttle and the braking.
[34:08.000 -> 34:29.740] Okay, interesting. And, you know, I would assume I know a little bit about the, you know, business of a racing driver academy, given that, ultimately, there is somebody who funds it and there is a way of how you, you know, help drivers grow through and then how they all succeed through the system. Now we know
[34:29.740 -> 34:34.540] that Red Bull, the energy drinks company actually funds the Red Bull junior team
[34:34.540 -> 34:42.300] or the Academy as you just said. On an average, what's the annual cost of
[34:42.300 -> 34:47.680] running this exhaustive a program? You support drivers all the way from karting through to Formula One?
[34:47.680 -> 34:52.440] What's an average cost of running a program like you do Dr. Marco?
[34:53.480 -> 34:55.800] I can't say you a
[34:57.040 -> 34:58.560] fixed number
[34:58.560 -> 35:02.680] First of all, we are a prestigious sponsor
[35:03.320 -> 35:07.760] In general, we have competitive drivers. We pay on time.
[35:08.360 -> 35:11.000] So our conditions are
[35:11.560 -> 35:16.680] very good ones. And you know, a lot of teams want to work with us.
[35:16.680 -> 35:19.880] So the amount we pay to the team is very good.
[35:21.640 -> 35:23.640] Secondly,
[35:24.320 -> 35:35.520] it's different, but let's put it like that, that in average we pay 50% of the costs,
[35:35.520 -> 35:48.720] the driver or we have to bring to the team. The negotiations most of the time are done by us. And as I mentioned, we have quite attractive conditions.
[35:52.520 -> 35:56.640] But there are other systems.
[35:56.640 -> 36:01.360] When a driver has a lot of personal sponsors,
[36:01.360 -> 36:07.800] then as long as the car is just to be recognized as a Red Bull car, we give
[36:07.800 -> 36:10.080] him more space and we pay less.
[36:10.080 -> 36:12.080] So it's varying.
[36:12.080 -> 36:17.720] And if some driver is not so successful, we are not going to the 50%, we are offering
[36:17.720 -> 36:18.720] less.
[36:18.720 -> 36:23.760] So it's all depending on performance.
[36:23.760 -> 36:31.040] Interesting thank you. That was, I was hoping I get a number, but I can understand you, you cannot share a number publicly.
[36:31.280 -> 36:40.320] But coming to driver changes, something Red Bull has, you know, been known for, you could literally have a mid season driver change at any
[36:40.320 -> 36:43.400] point in the season, depending, of course, on performance and stuff.
[36:45.840 -> 36:51.680] any point in the season depending of course on performance and stuff. Now who usually calls the shots when it comes to driver changes at Red Bull Racing and then at Alpha Tauri? It was Matteschitz
[36:51.680 -> 36:59.120] and me. Okay and now I presume it is you along with the new management or is is it now? New
[36:59.120 -> 37:06.000] management and the team principles are now also established. It's a common decision.
[37:06.000 -> 37:11.000] Do you and Christian Horner often disagree on driver decisions?
[37:11.000 -> 37:14.000] Not often, but sometimes we do.
[37:14.000 -> 37:18.000] Could I ask which was the last driver you all disagreed about?
[37:18.000 -> 37:22.000] The last one...
[37:22.000 -> 37:32.900] I would say Nick de Vries and he was at the moment it looks like he is right.
[37:32.900 -> 37:35.240] So is it okay if I dig further?
[37:35.240 -> 37:41.720] I presume Christian didn't want Nick de Vries and you wanted him.
[37:41.720 -> 37:57.000] Is that or is it the reverse? I mean basically it is AlphaTauri so it's not completely but as we are a big family I would say we are at least getting opinions
[37:57.000 -> 38:10.000] and he was not so a fan of Nick De Vries. How close was Nick Schumacher back then in the conversation to get in the Alpha Tauri then?
[38:10.000 -> 38:21.000] There was Franz Dost who wanted Nick Schumacher,
[38:21.000 -> 38:27.000] but Nick Schumacher was with Ferrari Academy through all his career and he was
[38:27.640 -> 38:34.640] already in F1 and basically Alfa Tauri is a junior team. And with Nick de Vries, the
[38:35.720 -> 38:42.200] difference to Schumacher is he had just one race, a very successful race in Monza, so
[38:42.200 -> 38:45.840] he could fit in our philosophy that it is a junior team.
[38:45.840 -> 38:51.960] Sure, I understood. Yeah, interesting. Yeah, always something to talk about.
[38:51.960 -> 38:58.360] But maybe now Sonal, we can move on to the next part about Dr. Marco himself.
[38:58.360 -> 39:07.440] Oh yeah, I'm so intrigued to know more about the time where Red Bull bought Minardi, Dr Marco.
[39:07.440 -> 39:10.980] Because at that point in time, you obviously had run a team.
[39:10.980 -> 39:13.480] The idea was to develop a lot of drivers.
[39:13.480 -> 39:19.740] So was it ever in the books that you could potentially run Minardi or later Toro Rosso?
[39:19.740 -> 39:21.080] Was it ever discovered as well?
[39:21.080 -> 39:22.080] Discussed?
[39:22.080 -> 39:23.080] No, no, no.
[39:23.080 -> 39:27.000] I'm not for the operating business.
[39:27.000 -> 39:32.000] That's a team principle. I was more in the background.
[39:32.000 -> 39:35.000] But, you know, to know the whole background.
[39:35.000 -> 39:40.000] At that time, FIA was run by Max Mosley
[39:40.000 -> 39:48.000] and they guaranteed us we can use the same chassis for both teams,
[39:48.000 -> 39:58.000] which was the case in 2008, when Vettel won Monza.
[39:58.000 -> 40:02.000] He had the Ferrari engine, which was stronger than the Red Bull team.
[40:02.000 -> 40:06.160] I think it was a Renault engine at this time, which was less powerful
[40:06.160 -> 40:17.360] than the Ferrari. So it was a commercially very good decision. With one development center,
[40:17.360 -> 40:31.000] which was in Wilton Keynes, we could run four cars. After winning Monza, the world changed and all of a sudden what was guaranteed to us
[40:31.000 -> 40:33.000] didn't exist anymore.
[40:33.000 -> 40:51.240] So we got the team and now we had to set up a complete technical team, production, design, everything, because it was not anymore allowed to use the chassis of Red Bull Racing.
[40:51.640 -> 40:55.600] So that changed dramatically, but once we had the team,
[40:57.000 -> 41:01.840] the boss decided, yes, we keep going, but it changed the whole
[41:02.760 -> 41:08.560] financial base of the decision why we bought Alfa Minari.
[41:08.560 -> 41:11.320] You surely wouldn't have been very happy with it, right?
[41:11.320 -> 41:14.380] And how did you find out that they were doing this against you?
[41:14.380 -> 41:16.120] Because ideally that's what you bought the team for, right?
[41:16.120 -> 41:17.120] To run four cars.
[41:17.120 -> 41:22.360] But suddenly you have at least a hundred million dollars more of money to spend.
[41:22.360 -> 41:25.000] That's a hard one.
[41:25.000 -> 41:32.000] That's a hard one and that shows the commitment and the passion which Red Bull had.
[41:32.000 -> 41:37.000] Because, okay, as I said, we made the first step, now we do the second step.
[41:37.000 -> 41:50.640] And now, that's why Minardi, or now Alpha Tauri, will have a new setup with two new people on the
[41:50.640 -> 41:51.640] front.
[41:51.640 -> 41:56.120] It's Peter Beyer and Laurent Mackies.
[41:56.120 -> 42:03.720] And it's clear the team has and will follow as closely as the regulations allow it Red Bull
[42:03.720 -> 42:07.280] Racing. as closely as the regulations allow it when racing. Don't do their own development and
[42:07.280 -> 42:15.360] own suspension and then that. So use as much of the brilliant technical know-how we have
[42:15.360 -> 42:19.560] and make as much synergies as possible.
[42:19.560 -> 42:25.360] I have been very intrigued to see and is it really that you, the two teams are completely
[42:25.360 -> 42:28.000] separate and there's no information to share at all?
[42:28.000 -> 42:31.960] Because surely, right, most outsiders when they come to Formula One, they're like, hey,
[42:31.960 -> 42:33.800] these are two teams owned by Red Bull.
[42:33.800 -> 42:37.540] Surely they must be discussing things, the parts of designs, but that's not legal.
[42:37.540 -> 42:41.080] So does that not happen at all in any way?
[42:41.080 -> 42:46.640] Not in the way that Alfa Dauri is successful enough.
[42:46.640 -> 42:57.480] There was too much ego which is part of the sport and now that's clear for the future
[42:57.480 -> 43:04.160] and as far as the regulations allow it, the synergies will be used.
[43:04.160 -> 43:09.440] I want to for a second Dr Dr. Marko, talk about the culture. We a second ago spoke about drivers
[43:09.440 -> 43:13.880] and how you said you need to show the results and you need to perform and show the results
[43:13.880 -> 43:18.880] on the stopwatch and that's how you determine about young drivers. But where did that culture
[43:18.880 -> 43:23.180] sort of form in your mind? Like when did you come to that? And how does this whole perform
[43:23.180 -> 43:27.480] and perish culture work with all the young drivers as well? Are everyone capable enough of taking
[43:27.480 -> 43:33.560] it? If I understand you correctly, we follow the performance of the team, the performance
[43:33.560 -> 43:41.600] of the driver and taking all that in account and that is the base for a decision to continue
[43:41.600 -> 43:46.160] or not to continue. And recently, you've also onboarded lots of drivers
[43:46.160 -> 43:52.960] from outside the system. Firstly there was Alex Albon in I think 2019, then we had Sergio Perez
[43:52.960 -> 43:59.040] come back into the system as well. Do you notice any difference in the drivers and their ability
[43:59.040 -> 44:14.000] or mindset from the drivers that let's say are in the Red Bull system itself? Yes, again to come back a little bit, Ardon was with us in the junior team for quite a while.
[44:14.000 -> 44:26.460] He had a lot of crashes and that's the reason why we didn't continue but it was just interrupt I would say it was
[44:26.460 -> 44:33.140] not completely new he had long time support from us over in the go-kart area
[44:33.140 -> 44:50.000] so we said to us we had a how we call it a selection day I think in Estoril, where he was I think together with Ricciardo or so.
[44:50.000 -> 45:02.000] And we had a close look at him and interestingly on the qualifying lap he was down,
[45:02.000 -> 45:07.260] but in race performance he was good. But at that time he had already a lot of
[45:08.040 -> 45:09.640] backing from
[45:09.640 -> 45:12.360] his Mexican supporters and
[45:13.480 -> 45:15.960] they decided to go their own way
[45:17.520 -> 45:24.440] but it was an amicable decision. Yes, you have a different approach, you have a lot of
[45:24.960 -> 45:28.320] funding fortunately, but in the end
[45:28.320 -> 45:32.800] it became the Wettler again.
[45:32.800 -> 45:51.160] The decision was between Arbon and Perez and with Alex I have to say, Alex was really unlucky in Brazil he was fighting for second position when
[45:51.160 -> 45:59.760] Hamilton turned him around, got it fine, didn't help Alex but he lost his podium
[45:59.760 -> 46:07.000] and the next which was more severe in Austria, when Alex was fighting for the win,
[46:07.000 -> 46:11.000] when again he was turned around by Emelgren.
[46:11.000 -> 46:16.000] And that hit his confidence massively. Massively.
[46:16.000 -> 46:19.000] You know, a second and the win was on the table.
[46:19.000 -> 46:30.800] And through a driver error from someone, took the glory away. And that made it difficult from this moment,
[46:30.800 -> 46:36.800] his self-confidence was down and we needed someone we knew to fight for the championship,
[46:36.800 -> 46:47.600] we need two solid drivers. But in the end there was always some sort of connection with Red Bull already in the early days.
[46:47.600 -> 46:54.640] Actually in these moments I want to know more about what Dr. Marco the person thinks of because you of course
[46:54.640 -> 46:58.880] were a racing driver in the past of course and a Le Mans winner with Porsche as well not many
[46:58.880 -> 47:05.400] people talk about that but you've done that and raced at the Targa Fleuryo and other very very important races and
[47:05.820 -> 47:10.900] For you, do you sort of step in their shoes sometimes and feel like okay?
[47:10.900 -> 47:16.520] I would have done something differently or that's what I as a racing driver feel like about a certain moment or something like that
[47:17.160 -> 47:20.600] We come back in the end, you know, it's the same
[47:23.160 -> 47:24.680] I talked to
[47:24.680 -> 47:26.640] parents who had some
[47:28.240 -> 47:33.120] very good races once he won, but he had some not so good races.
[47:33.200 -> 47:37.200] And for example, in his first team, he was not aggressive enough.
[47:37.520 -> 47:41.520] He was looking too much to the tyres. That had nothing to do with Daggerflug.
[47:41.680 -> 47:44.960] If you have some common sense, you see and you don't
[47:46.400 -> 47:54.560] need to look at the data where the race or the place for a podium was lost. That's how
[47:54.560 -> 48:05.560] you say. If you have this racing experience and his passion.
[48:06.240 -> 48:09.640] You see it.
[48:14.160 -> 48:18.840] On that front as well, Dr. Marco, I'm so interested because you spend so much of your time scouting young drivers, watching their races, reading the reports,
[48:18.840 -> 48:22.360] talking to people. Does that ever leave you with any free time? Like,
[48:22.560 -> 48:26.240] what do you do when, or if you have any free time at all?
[48:26.240 -> 48:29.000] Like, who is Dr. Marco outside of the racetrack?
[48:29.000 -> 48:33.000] I have some, quite a few other interests.
[48:33.000 -> 48:45.000] I am collecting art, so if I have time, I go to galleries or I go in Italy in the workshop of artists.
[48:46.200 -> 48:47.320] So that's one thing.
[48:47.320 -> 48:52.320] The other thing is I have a forest and I work there
[48:53.960 -> 48:55.800] and there I get a lot of strength.
[48:55.800 -> 49:00.800] And of course I do the forest a little bit differently.
[49:03.040 -> 49:09.840] Nursing and we're doing far more work than most of them because I don't need the
[49:09.840 -> 49:13.160] financial success.
[49:13.160 -> 49:19.840] And there you have to think in three or four generations before the result will be obvious.
[49:19.840 -> 49:22.640] You have to think far ahead.
[49:22.640 -> 49:26.120] So you have to think far ahead. So you have to have visions. And that was...
[49:26.120 -> 49:32.520] Yeah, our boss was one of the best men I ever met about visions.
[49:32.520 -> 49:34.360] He didn't think about next year.
[49:34.360 -> 49:36.800] He was always 10, 20 years ahead.
[49:36.800 -> 49:39.840] And most of the time he was right.
[49:39.840 -> 49:43.400] But with me, I have some other interests, of course.
[49:43.400 -> 49:46.700] And I'm very well organized.
[49:46.700 -> 49:53.300] I start quite early, it's known my phone calls are coming quite early in the morning.
[49:53.300 -> 49:58.100] So I am well organized so you can achieve it.
[49:58.100 -> 50:00.580] I don't need so much sleep.
[50:00.580 -> 50:06.120] Wait how much do you sleep normally Dr. Marko? Still roughly
[50:06.120 -> 50:08.120] 4 to 5.
[50:08.600 -> 50:13.200] Wait, you must be having a fair bit of coffee then right or something or the other to keep you going?
[50:16.120 -> 50:18.120] No, I have a good one.
[50:19.000 -> 50:21.000] Very well done, sir. Very well done.
[50:22.000 -> 50:24.000] Yes sir, very well done. It amazes me.
[50:24.000 -> 50:27.000] So how much can you accomplish in your day?
[50:27.000 -> 50:32.000] Because you have, what, essentially 19 hours of things to do?
[50:32.000 -> 50:34.000] And it's...
[50:34.000 -> 50:39.000] Yeah, I'm reading a lot of books.
[50:39.000 -> 50:42.000] That's also part of my life.
[50:42.000 -> 50:44.000] I watch sometimes TV.
[50:44.000 -> 50:47.680] Or when I wake up early at night I watch some of the
[50:47.680 -> 50:54.240] races you know afterwards and still yeah.
[50:54.240 -> 50:55.480] I have to ask.
[50:55.480 -> 51:02.220] No more, no other conclusion as I had on the race day you know if I watch it again.
[51:02.220 -> 51:06.000] Do you and have you watched Drive to Survive? What's your
[51:06.000 -> 51:13.120] feeling about Drive to Survive? It's good for the sport but it's not very interesting.
[51:16.400 -> 51:21.360] My word and actually on the subject of art Dr. Marko, one question that I really wanted to ask.
[51:21.360 -> 51:33.840] Did you ever draw yourself? Because I see a lovely painting in the back and I get a feeling you have quite a simple taste in art. I see. That is a present and it's
[51:33.840 -> 51:47.000] here. But generally I am in modern art. Most of it is Austrian based but when I am in Shanghai, you know, I have time there is
[51:47.000 -> 51:51.200] a very nice old building where all the painters are.
[51:51.200 -> 51:57.800] So it's not, let's say, only this period or this and then buy out of the stomach what
[51:57.800 -> 51:59.160] I like and buy.
[51:59.160 -> 52:02.960] But in the meanwhile, I think it's 1,500 paintings.
[52:02.960 -> 52:03.960] Wow!
[52:03.960 -> 52:04.960] That's a lot.
[52:04.960 -> 52:06.040] That's a lot of them.
[52:07.040 -> 52:09.440] Why do you keep in store all of them? Yeah
[52:12.040 -> 52:13.480] I
[52:13.480 -> 52:17.560] Have four hotels and they are filled up with paintings. Not bad.
[52:18.400 -> 52:22.900] So some of the people say I just open up another one to get
[52:23.400 -> 52:27.000] surrounding for the paint.
[52:27.000 -> 52:29.000] Oh my word.
[52:29.000 -> 52:31.000] But it's also an approach.
[52:31.000 -> 52:38.000] I know some of them are quite expensive ones, but I want to have it public or semi-public.
[52:38.000 -> 52:45.960] I don't want to store it somewhere in a, I don't know, basement or things like so, in a war house.
[52:45.960 -> 52:48.160] I want to see it, and when I walk around,
[52:48.160 -> 52:50.600] it's memories, and it's a different world
[52:50.600 -> 52:54.240] because it gives complete different impressions.
[52:54.240 -> 52:58.640] But, yeah, it's, I'm looking always forward.
[53:00.240 -> 53:02.400] If you look at the painting,
[53:02.400 -> 53:04.960] it's depending on the mood, on the light,
[53:04.960 -> 53:06.620] it always, or it
[53:06.620 -> 53:09.880] very often can give you a new impression.
[53:09.880 -> 53:14.920] And you spoke about paintings that sort of give you back some really fond memories.
[53:14.920 -> 53:17.480] Is there any particular one that you love the most at the moment?
[53:17.480 -> 53:22.280] Or are your paintings mostly racing related or just generally outside life as well?
[53:22.280 -> 53:26.000] No, not at all. Not at all.
[53:26.000 -> 53:30.000] The racing paintings are mainly gifts.
[53:30.000 -> 53:34.000] It's some photographs or something else.
[53:34.000 -> 53:36.000] No, no, it's more than pop, more than art.
[53:36.000 -> 53:40.000] I love it. That's such a fun way to detach from the racing world as well.
[53:40.000 -> 53:45.600] Quite like what one of your prodigies, Vettel does as well because so many people
[53:45.600 -> 53:49.800] love him for the same thing that he's able to detach away from racing.
[53:49.800 -> 53:54.800] And I really, really wanted to ask you about him because Sebastian and Max,
[53:54.800 -> 54:00.000] they've contributed to 79 of the 100 wins that Red Bull Racing has had.
[54:00.000 -> 54:02.000] Two finds both made by you.
[54:02.000 -> 54:04.800] Very, very, very top class drivers.
[54:04.800 -> 54:05.000] But what do you see as the difference between the two of them, Dr. Marko? Two finds both made by you, very, very, very top class drivers.
[54:05.000 -> 54:09.000] But what do you see as the difference between the two of them, Dr. Marko?
[54:09.000 -> 54:13.000] Because they're all different human beings, essentially, but also from a driving style
[54:13.000 -> 54:15.000] perspective, how are they so different to each other?
[54:15.000 -> 54:19.000] First of all, they are different characters.
[54:19.000 -> 54:32.600] Both were completely focused on racing and they had an unbelievable talent.
[54:32.600 -> 54:46.680] Maybe Max is more natural, Seb is going into the smallest detail. To be an engineer with him was not a nice time
[54:47.440 -> 54:51.240] because if you want something,
[54:51.240 -> 54:53.320] he was looking and looking,
[54:53.320 -> 55:01.480] and there was nothing that was, how should I say, by accident.
[55:01.480 -> 55:05.000] Everything was clearly planned and
[55:07.600 -> 55:11.160] Also executed in this way so
[55:14.160 -> 55:16.340] Main difference maybe
[55:17.160 -> 55:19.440] Max does it more easy
[55:20.240 -> 55:22.240] It's more natural
[55:22.520 -> 55:24.640] But both are great drivers no doubt
[55:25.000 -> 55:30.000] and It's all natural. But those are great drivers, no doubt. And yeah, Max has no more wins than Seb.
[55:30.000 -> 55:36.000] It's so amazing we're talking about this because back then it seemed like Seb was everything, wasn't he, Dr Marco?
[55:36.000 -> 55:42.000] You had one four-time champion, so many wins. And then in 2014, when he left,
[55:42.000 -> 55:47.800] what is it like to deal with an exit of a driver who's just done so much for you?
[55:47.800 -> 55:52.160] How does the team react and adapt and sort of wrap around a high profile driver?
[55:52.160 -> 55:54.640] Because you mentioned Max motivates the team.
[55:54.920 -> 55:57.160] I surely imagine it must have been the same for Seb as well.
[55:57.560 -> 55:59.840] So how did you and the team sort of gel with that?
[55:59.840 -> 56:03.360] And you then had Tani Kafiad and Daniel Ricard in 2015.
[56:03.360 -> 56:05.880] Was that a big shift internally in the atmosphere?
[56:06.160 -> 56:12.220] You said what the driver has done for us, but I would like to mention what we have done for the driver.
[56:12.440 -> 56:14.000] Yeah
[56:14.000 -> 56:16.000] Yeah, it's also an important point
[56:16.880 -> 56:18.000] but
[56:18.000 -> 56:20.320] if you are a winning driver
[56:21.560 -> 56:24.480] in Formula One, you must have a big
[56:31.680 -> 56:38.200] ego and at that time our engine was not competitive and it was clear that the engine wouldn't be competitive for
[56:38.200 -> 56:50.360] the next couple of years so it was understandable that he is looking for something where he can
[56:50.360 -> 56:58.880] win again and that's part of the business. So we sat down and remember in
[56:58.880 -> 57:09.040] Japan he invited me for a nice restaurant, it was clear we were talking about renewing contract
[57:09.040 -> 57:15.560] and there was no answer, I knew what was coming and then he brought it forward, at least the
[57:15.560 -> 57:20.320] dinner was nice and he saw the news.
[57:20.320 -> 57:24.480] But on that, do you often hang out with drivers outside of racing?
[57:24.480 -> 57:28.900] Like with Seb or with any other driver, do you spend time with them when you're not at the racetracks as well?
[57:28.900 -> 57:29.900] Ever?
[57:29.900 -> 57:33.900] Sometimes, yes, not too often.
[57:33.900 -> 57:49.040] But because it's so busy, but if the opportunity is right, then if you sit down, we have a lot of fun. I remember once it was Ricciardo, Max and I think Carlos,
[57:49.040 -> 57:54.960] Sainz and we were sitting in my home and the accordion player
[57:56.080 -> 58:00.480] and some steely and schnapps so it was nice atmosphere but it's not too often.
[58:01.200 -> 58:13.320] Do you find it easy to gel with the younger generation? Are they just about as relaxed and more conversationally as you are as well? As I say they are different
[58:13.320 -> 58:25.000] and of course some stuff I always marks his sim racing is something which I can't follow or understand,
[58:25.960 -> 58:30.200] but it's him, it's part of his life, so okay.
[58:30.200 -> 58:33.720] But I don't talk about that with him,
[58:33.720 -> 58:36.360] and also the negotiations about his team,
[58:36.360 -> 58:38.240] the corporation is very cool.
[58:38.240 -> 58:42.080] That's not my business, I just can't follow it,
[58:42.080 -> 58:43.780] or I'm not interested.
[58:43.780 -> 58:49.120] But the rest, they are modern people and a lot of things
[58:49.120 -> 58:56.680] we discuss and we have also some fun and but it's not that we are everything has to be
[58:56.680 -> 59:00.260] common and together.
[59:00.260 -> 59:07.120] Very interesting fact so a lot of Max sim racing, Samuel has actually commentated on.
[59:07.120 -> 59:14.320] Okay, so good connections there as well with Max. I'm sure you are glad that Max do all the
[59:14.320 -> 59:20.400] racing in the sim, but you're not driving an old Red Bull in Nordschleife in September.
[59:20.400 -> 59:24.880] That was a big story that came into Canada and I totally understand where it comes from.
[59:25.120 -> 59:30.400] That was a big story that came into Canada and I totally understand where it comes from. You know, after what happened to Robert Kubica, everyone's a little more skeptical of such
[59:30.400 -> 59:31.400] adventures.
[59:31.400 -> 59:35.800] You know, it's basically a show run.
[59:35.800 -> 59:39.400] So you don't have the time to set up the car.
[59:39.400 -> 59:42.800] Nürburgring Nordschleife is something really special.
[59:42.800 -> 59:46.000] You have bumps, you're jumping, and, and, and.
[59:46.000 -> 59:54.000] So with a car which is not specially done for it, and I know Max, you know, he says he doesn't care about records.
[59:54.000 -> 01:00:05.000] He knows the record by the second. And if he is driving there, he is not going only to beat it, he wants to beat it in a big way.
[01:00:05.000 -> 01:00:12.000] And as I mentioned with the car which is not prepared for that, it's a high risk
[01:00:12.000 -> 01:00:21.000] and that is really not necessary to take. And you can agree and he would say no I won't, I know him.
[01:00:21.000 -> 01:00:30.160] As soon as in the car, he would go for me. You know, this reminds me of Nico Halkenberg, was the ambassador of the Force India Driver Academy.
[01:00:30.160 -> 01:00:33.200] So he had come down to India. He was working with the younger drivers.
[01:00:33.440 -> 01:00:38.920] And there was a twin seater go-kart that he and Paul D'Resta had to sit in, right?
[01:00:39.160 -> 01:00:43.240] And Paul D'Resta stepped out and asked first thing, are you sure we can sit in this?
[01:00:43.240 -> 01:00:47.000] Have you gotten all the permissions all the way from Otmar to Vijay Mallya
[01:00:47.000 -> 01:00:48.440] to make sure I sit in the car?
[01:00:48.440 -> 01:00:52.680] So I totally understand your reservations as well.
[01:00:52.680 -> 01:00:55.160] But talking of Fettle, Dr. Marko,
[01:00:55.160 -> 01:00:59.400] there are also these rumors that Sebastian Fettle
[01:00:59.400 -> 01:01:01.200] could be your successor
[01:01:01.200 -> 01:01:06.120] in the whole Red Bull Junior Driver program, right? Do you have any
[01:01:06.120 -> 01:01:13.200] thoughts on that? Like does Vettel have the skills to do what you do in the Academy?
[01:01:13.200 -> 01:01:20.400] I mean if it would be only the Red Bull Junior Program, it's far more what I'm doing.
[01:01:20.400 -> 01:01:27.000] But I think the only thing was managing some on a TV interview.
[01:01:27.000 -> 01:01:38.000] Someone brought it up. I said, Sepp, you would earn much less, you would have to work far more, and you would have the same sort of traveling.
[01:01:38.000 -> 01:01:46.200] That's the reason, at least you said in the public when you're stopping though at the moment. I think there's nothing
[01:01:47.040 -> 01:01:49.820] Concrete it's just he wants
[01:01:50.960 -> 01:01:57.020] Make up his mind what he wants to do in the future of course with his knowledge and this approach
[01:01:57.020 -> 01:02:01.140] It could be a very good choice, but at the moment. There's nothing real
[01:02:02.360 -> 01:02:06.920] Fingers crossed I'd love to see your succession planning for the
[01:02:06.920 -> 01:02:12.600] Academy just as you know when we told our listener base and we should
[01:02:12.600 -> 01:02:18.620] wrap up in the next five minutes if that's okay Dr. Marco. Yeah only five
[01:02:18.620 -> 01:02:23.360] minutes yes. When we asked our listener base what's the one question you'd love
[01:02:23.360 -> 01:02:25.560] to ask Dr. Marko?
[01:02:25.560 -> 01:02:28.520] We got over 300 responses, okay.
[01:02:28.520 -> 01:02:31.040] One of the common threads that actually came in
[01:02:31.040 -> 01:02:32.680] was of course, driver talk.
[01:02:32.680 -> 01:02:36.280] You know, and few people have been reacting
[01:02:36.280 -> 01:02:38.900] to how detached Max can also be saying,
[01:02:38.900 -> 01:02:41.460] I'm winning everything, but I'm not gonna be here forever.
[01:02:41.460 -> 01:02:46.000] If Max was to decide to do what Nico Rosberg did, win at the end
[01:02:46.000 -> 01:02:52.100] of the year and go, how would you deal with that situation? Of course, it's hypothetical,
[01:02:52.100 -> 01:02:56.160] but I'd just love to know how you would think about it.
[01:02:56.160 -> 01:03:05.800] I'm aware of it. He won't go forever, but I hope that he doesn't do it like Nico and just saying after a part,
[01:03:05.800 -> 01:03:11.400] so he will give us some warning at least so we can react on it.
[01:03:11.400 -> 01:03:16.400] But I'm aware that he will come and he won't stop racing completely.
[01:03:16.400 -> 01:03:22.600] I think Le Mans and things like that where he's just going to have fun and enjoy it,
[01:03:22.600 -> 01:03:28.000] he will still do this sort of racing, but you can't underestimate
[01:03:28.000 -> 01:03:38.880] the pressure nowadays. Formula One is 22, 23 races every week on the simulator, a lot of PR activities.
[01:03:38.880 -> 01:03:46.080] So it's hard work and it's a lot of stress and understandable, but I don't know when.
[01:03:46.080 -> 01:03:49.540] So I hope at least he fulfills his contract.
[01:03:49.540 -> 01:03:54.000] And in the whole succession planning, there is Daniel Ricciardo, multiple times race winner,
[01:03:54.000 -> 01:03:56.660] very happy to be back.
[01:03:56.660 -> 01:03:58.920] He said he's happy to come back to Alfa Tauri.
[01:03:58.920 -> 01:04:04.200] You have Checo Perez, who's clearly the last few races have been sort of not so good from
[01:04:04.200 -> 01:04:09.540] a Cheo standpoint. Do you think that there is any chance whatsoever that
[01:04:09.540 -> 01:04:16.680] Daniel could actually get a look in in 24? First of all, Czecho is still second
[01:04:16.680 -> 01:04:28.240] in the championship so and the first goal is to defend his position and I'm sure if he's focusing on just achieving good results
[01:04:28.240 -> 01:04:36.000] that he will be a good, a good driver to let go racing.
[01:04:36.000 -> 01:04:47.520] With Ricciardo, he will have a test in Silverstone and from there we see where he is standing but that is nothing for immediately.
[01:04:47.520 -> 01:04:53.440] We have a contract with Jacob which goes till the end of 24 and of course we have to think
[01:04:53.440 -> 01:05:02.480] what will happen after that and yeah if Ricciardo recovers, if it is the old Ricciardo which we knew
[01:05:02.480 -> 01:05:06.640] you know, it was a very competitive driver. I don't
[01:05:06.640 -> 01:05:12.440] exactly know what happened at Renault and at McLaren especially why he lost the
[01:05:12.440 -> 01:05:19.440] edge but of course we have to evaluate it. But nothing for the straightaway.
[01:05:19.440 -> 01:05:23.480] So you're saying it may not be Red Bull but Ricciardo could have a seat in at
[01:05:23.480 -> 01:05:26.400] Alfa Tauri depending how everybody's
[01:05:26.400 -> 01:05:33.920] season Yuki and Nick's seasons sort of progress at Alpha Tauri in 23. I say he has a test in
[01:05:35.440 -> 01:05:42.160] Silverstone, he's a Red Bull Racing and of course we will look at his test how the test is and
[01:05:43.360 -> 01:05:45.840] yeah then we see and discuss.
[01:05:45.840 -> 01:05:49.960] Now, Dr. Marko, we've talked about so many things that you have to make a decision on,
[01:05:49.960 -> 01:05:56.760] but I would like to end on the trickiest question for you. If you had to pick a book to recommend
[01:05:56.760 -> 01:06:00.440] for all of our listeners to read, and I know you've read so many of them, which one would
[01:06:00.440 -> 01:06:03.800] you recommend actually? I suspect that this has to be the hardest question that's come
[01:06:03.800 -> 01:06:08.800] upon today.
[01:06:12.000 -> 01:06:14.000] I don't read books about racing. Generally as well.
[01:06:14.000 -> 01:06:16.000] Generally a book.
[01:06:22.000 -> 01:06:27.000] I told you it must be the hardest question for today.
[01:06:27.000 -> 01:06:36.200] There are so many good but I would say the man without the qualities of a Muslim.
[01:06:36.200 -> 01:06:55.440] And what about it do you feel is so special for you personally? It's a fight to succeed in life, that's too complicated.
[01:06:55.440 -> 01:06:57.000] No worries, no worries.
[01:06:57.000 -> 01:07:00.440] I'm sure we can find a translated copy and check it out as well.
[01:07:00.440 -> 01:07:01.440] But Dr. Marco, thank you.
[01:07:01.440 -> 01:07:04.680] Thank you for your time on the InsideLineF1 podcast.
[01:07:04.680 -> 01:07:07.440] It's been such a pleasure to have you on and to discuss so many
[01:07:07.440 -> 01:07:11.120] things as well so hope you had fun. Thank you.
[01:07:11.120 -> 01:07:18.320] Good awesome. Now that was fun wasn't it? Personally for me it was so so amazing
[01:07:18.320 -> 01:07:23.180] to listen to Dr. Marko talk about his process of selecting drivers and also
[01:07:23.180 -> 01:07:30.360] all the insights that he's given about Sebastian Vettel and so many other key drivers as well. For me, it's a rare
[01:07:30.360 -> 01:07:34.800] idea to understand how he thinks, which we can't quite tell quite often with all
[01:07:34.800 -> 01:07:38.200] the media stories that goes around. So I really love this opportunity to chat
[01:07:38.200 -> 01:07:42.480] with him and understand more about what his thought process was. And before we
[01:07:42.480 -> 01:07:47.040] end this episode, I'd really like to give a huge thank you to every single
[01:07:47.040 -> 01:07:50.380] one of you who sent in your questions via social media.
[01:07:50.380 -> 01:07:54.620] Of course, as you might have noticed, we couldn't quite ask them in exact order, but they were
[01:07:54.620 -> 01:07:58.660] the inspirations to a lot of the questions that we ended up asking Dr. Marco.
[01:07:58.660 -> 01:08:03.000] So it means the world to us that you interacted with us on social media and sent us these
[01:08:03.000 -> 01:08:04.000] questions.
[01:08:04.000 -> 01:08:07.520] And the fact of the matter is, we're going to be doing a lot more of these interviews
[01:08:07.520 -> 01:08:09.520] with people working in Formula 1.
[01:08:09.520 -> 01:08:13.580] So we'd love to know what you have on your mind and we'd love for them to answer the
[01:08:13.580 -> 01:08:15.120] questions that you have as well.
[01:08:15.120 -> 01:08:18.400] So keep engaging and keep interacting with our social media.
[01:08:18.400 -> 01:08:23.400] And if you like this episode, which I suspect you did if you've come this far, please, please
[01:08:23.400 -> 01:08:25.500] share this with any friends and family members
[01:08:25.500 -> 01:08:28.300] who love Formula One and might be interested in this.
[01:08:28.300 -> 01:08:31.800] And also subscribe to the Inside Line F1 podcast.
[01:08:31.800 -> 01:08:34.200] We'll be back folks with our Austrian GP preview.
[01:08:34.200 -> 01:08:39.300] And if you're in Mumbai, don't forget to check out a live event for the Sunday as well.
[01:08:39.300 -> 01:08:41.300] Check out the link in the description for more.
[01:08:41.300 -> 01:08:42.400] See you then folks.
[01:08:42.400 -> 01:08:43.200] Take care.
[01:08:43.200 -> None] Bye. description for more. See you then folks, take care, bye-bye. you