Helmut Marko shares cryptic response to rumors of Sebastian Vettel returning to Red Bull

Helmut Marko shared a cryptic response while addressing rumors of Sebastian Vettel potentially returning to Red Bull in a leadership role. The Austrian team has been rocked by a resource drain as quite a few key members have left.

To cap it all off, in a move initiated by the Red Bull board, the team boss for more than two decades, Christian Horner, was fired with immediate effect. Amid all of this, the future of Red Bull remains uncertain, as even though Horner has been replaced with Laurent Mekies, the move comes off as an unplanned, haphazard one.

There have been reports for a while now that Sebastian Vettel is one name that has often been looked at as Helmut Marko's successor at Red Bull. Marko is someone who tends to work independently of the racing team and is an employee of the corporate unit.

Hence, any call on his future would be taken through the board. At the same time, the shuffle within the Milton Keynes squad means that there are many who have suggested the German's name for the role of a team principal, something that was managed by Christian Horner in the past.

Helmut Marko was questioned about the same, and even though in the past he has often anointed Sebastian Vettel as his possible successor, he opted to give a cryptic answer. He told OE24:

"That's not an issue and won't be an issue."

Helmut Marko still thinks Red Bull can challenge for the title with Max Verstappen

Unlike a lot of the members of the Austrian team and Max Verstappen himself, Marko has shown optimism when it comes to the possibility of the Dutch driver still being in contention for the title. The gap to championship leader Oscar Piastri is now in the high 60s, which is more than two race wins.

When questioned why he thinks that a title battle for the Dutch driver is still on, the Austrian said:

"There are still 332 points up for grabs, which is a decent package. We hope the updates we're bringing to Spa and Budapest will have an impact."

Helmut Marko was, however, slightly worried about the Sprint format, as Red Bull needs a perfect practice session to nail the setup. He said:

"On the one hand, there are more points up for grabs, but on the other hand, two practice sessions are canceled. We can't afford a disaster Friday practice and then get the car into the right tire window. Everything has to be right from the start."

The F1 Belgian GP will be the first race weekend for Red Bull without Christian Horner at the helm, and it will be interesting to see how the team reacts to the new reality.