Marko dismisses the possibility of Vettel's return, attributing the title loss to Horner.

      "Horner aimed to use it as a means to suspend me."

      The recently departed Dr. Helmut Marko has decisively dismissed rumors regarding Sebastian Vettel potentially replacing him at Red Bull while also delivering his strongest criticisms of former team principal Christian Horner during a number of post-exit interviews.

      In response to a question from Osterreich about Vettel's possibility of taking on a role at the team where he achieved four world championships, the 82-year-old was skeptical. "I seriously doubt it," he stated. "He doesn’t have enough allies. Particularly given his - shall we say - anti-mobility viewpoint, it would be challenging for him."

      When it was proposed that Vettel could help promote environmental causes at races in a new position with Red Bull, Marko responded bluntly: "But that wouldn’t enhance the drivers’ performance."

      Marko also dismissed any notion of returning in an advisory capacity, noting that recent criticisms of Franz Tost’s commentary style disqualified him from such a role. "What good would that do?" he asked, adding that he would still remain very interested in Red Bull’s new Ford-supported engine initiative. "Even though everything carries a certain risk, creating your own engine is essential. The team members involved will handle it," said the Austrian.

      In separate interviews with De Telegraaf and De Limburger, Marko was much more outspoken in his criticism of Horner and the internal power struggles that preceded his own exit. "I don’t want to get into specifics, but I didn’t even read that absurd press release," Marko told De Telegraaf. "Let’s just say a lot has changed within the team in a short time. You believe you know people well, but ultimately, that turns out to be completely incorrect."

      In his conversation with De Limburger, Marko explicitly accused Horner of sabotaging him and harming Red Bull’s competitiveness. "Horner intended to use this to suspend me, but with Max’s emergence in Jeddah, that didn’t occur," he stated, referring to Verstappen’s intervention after Marko was highlighted for inappropriate comments.

      "More often than not, we could demonstrate that Horner was lying about everything, and once Chalerm Yoovidhya recognized this as well, he reassessed his stance."

      Marko asserted that decisive action against Horner came too late. "We needed to take steps because the on-track performance was lacking," he remarked. "Had we acted sooner, we would have been faster this year, and Max would have been world champion. I am completely convinced of that."

      He also reiterated that contentious comments attributed to him were fabricated. "That was concocted," Marko claimed regarding previous allegations involving Sergio Perez’s nationality and the lagging Ford-supported engine development. "I never said that," he maintained.

      Despite the bitter disagreements, Marko emphasized that he is not stepping back from work entirely. "I’m not retiring," he stated. "I’ve been in the office since seven in the morning. There are plenty of projects," he explained, mentioning his development of his hotel business. "I have no plans to slow down or become idle."

      Regarding Max Verstappen, Marko noted that their relationship no longer needed paternal oversight. "Max is already an adult man," he said. "I insist - Max is perfect; he doesn’t require anyone anymore."