'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgf/2gAIAQEAAAAArLj/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAECEAAAAE//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAEDEAAAAE//xAAfEAABBQABBQAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMEBREAEhQVIlL/2gAIAQEAAT8Arp93ZeUgzrVE7l0FhOtN9BNA2gEW598O1iCZCRLqLi+nP//EABcRAQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAgP/2gAIAQIBAT8ArmE//8QAFxEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAERA//aAAgBAwEBPwDV1w//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Red Bull F1 team advisor Dr. Helmut Marko believes the rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull would not have escalated so severely if late champion Niki Lauda were alive. Marko missed the former Austrian champion, who was a shareholder in the Brackley-based team and often played a part in the team’s integral matters.
Speaking to Servus TV about the late triple world champion’s approach, Marko said:
“I would have loved to have Niki when the tension escalated a lot between Red Bull and Mercedes. We wouldn't have gone that far with him.”
According to the Red Bull senior advisor, the late world champion often had a soothing effect on the team and, with his presence, it would have been easier for the two to calm Toto Wolff and Christian Horner. Marko believes the extent of the tensions between the two rival teams could have been managed with Lauda’s presence.
Describing the nature of the talks if Lauda were alive in 2021, Marko said:
“There would have been a bit more violent breakfasts because he didn't like to lose.”
The Austrian duo were known to have breakfast or lunch in the F1 paddock together almost every race weekend. The demise of the late triple world champion in 2019. left a significant impact on the Mercedes team. According to Marko, although Lauda liked winning an argument, he would have been cooperative and assisted in defusing the tensions between the teams with composure.
F1 CEO believes relationship between Mercedes and Red Bull needs repair
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has expressed a critical need to repair the fractious relationship between Mercedes and the Red Bull F1 team that had caused a tense atmosphere in the sport throughout the 2021 season.
Domenicali believed the clashes between the two championship rivals had served no benefit and instead intensified the atmosphere in the sport. The F1 boss expressed the need to settle unresolved and unsettled issues between the two teams after an intense title battle.
