Marko: "Red Bull has bigger balls than Mercedes and Ferrari"

  • Published on 05 Oct 2017 11:09
  • comments 7
  • By: Sam Gale

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko has claimed that Red Bull have bigger balls than its front of the grid competitors Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of trusting young talent to drive for either of its two teams. This comes after Red Bull made one of its typical cut throat decisions last weekend by bringing in so far untested driver Pierre Gasly to drive for Toro Rosso.

Marko does have a very good basis for this claim, having brought through several untried drivers to the main team in recent years, taking advantage of their hugely expansive young driver programme and its junior team Toro Rosso.

Since 2014 alone they have brought up three drivers to the main team without a single podium to their name in Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat, not to mention bringing in future four time world champion Sebastian Vettel in 2009. Bringing in a driver who hasn't won races before is something Ferrari havent done on a permanent basis since they brought in Felipe Massa in 2006, and Mercedes were only forced to do in bringing in Valtteri Bottas last year.

Mercedes and Ferrari both currently have no shortage of talent in their young driver pool, with Esteban Ocon, Pascal Wehrlein, Antonio Giovinazzi and Charles Leclerc just some of the names they currently boast, but it has been a struggle getting them into competitive F1 machinery with Ocon the only one of those names looking like having a car capable of scoring regular points next season, unless Sauber ( who all three of the other names are competing for a seat at) see a sudden upturn in performance.

Marko said this on the subject of promoting young drivers after the promotion of Gasly: "Red Bull, in complete contrast to Ferrari and Mercedes, have balls, and we put young drivers in the car. So let's see. We have our ideas, and as soon as everything is finalised we will let you know."

 

Sam Gale

Replies (7)

Login to reply
  • On the topic of Red bulls big balls, they must be pretty huge since you also going the Honda route! Or does the rookie driver selection only count as a single ball and the Honda engine selection the other? In that case your Honda ball is Bloody HUGE in comparison.

    • + 0
    • Oct 5 2017 - 12:49
  • It's easy to switch drivers around when you effectively own two teams... Which to this day I don't understand. Red Bull loves to post themselves in the back. They could also talk about the big balls it took to criticize the hell out of Renault ND subsequently getting an inferior PU. I expect that in 2018 McLaren will get preferential treatment in practice.

    • + 0
    • Oct 5 2017 - 12:55
  • A lot of pain in the knees in Red Bull team because of big balls banging.

    • + 0
    • Oct 5 2017 - 13:36
  • mbmwe36

    Posts: 533

    The driver switch didn't require big balls, it required a complete lack of respect for one of their drivers. There's a difference.
    I would also argue that the move to Honda didn't require balls - It's a calculated risk, that will only really impact the B-team if it goes wrong.

    • + 0
    • Oct 5 2017 - 14:26
    • Agreed, and its not really a risk that'll damage them either. If they do end up dead last, whatever. They've scored enough points this year to still get cash, and they get cash from Honda.

      • + 0
      • Oct 5 2017 - 17:52
    • mbmwe36

      Posts: 533

      It's certainly worth the gamble. If Honda gets it right, RBR can follow suit next year, and for all intents and purposes be a works team.
      If it doesn't, it's perhaps the difference between finishing 7-8 or 9-10th in the championship.

      • + 0
      • Oct 5 2017 - 20:46
    • Well, its not like RB is exactly flooding TR with resources anyway, look at how they've fallen back from the midseason and up until now. They really should've been able to grab points in Malaysia.

      • + 0
      • Oct 5 2017 - 20:49

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Red Bull Racing
  • Points 2,638
  • Podiums 100
  • Grand Prix 188
  • Country NL
  • Date of b. Sep 30 1997 (26)
  • Place of b. Hasselt (Belgie), NL
  • Weight 70 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar