Red Bull chief Helmut Marko was scathing in his evaluation of two of F1’s rookies ahead of the 2025 season, prompting Martin Brundle to take a swipe at the Austrian
Martin Brundle has hit back at Helmut Marko following the Red Bull boss’s controversial critique of two Formula One rookies. The 2025 season, which kicked off in Melbourne on Sunday, saw Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, Jack Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman all start their first full F1 campaigns.
Antonelli, who stepped into Lewis Hamilton’s shoes at Mercedes after the Brit’s high-profile move to Ferrari, started things off with a bang by securing an impressive fourth-place finish. However, it was a tough day at the office for the other rookies.
Doohan, Bortoleto and Lawson all crashed out, Bearman came in last, and Hadjar didn’t even make it to the starting line after skidding off during the formation lap. Prior to the opening weekend, Marko expressed doubts about Doohan and Bortoleto’s abilities and even suggested that the former might be replaced before the season ends.
“He is a ‘C’,” Marko, 81, said of Alpine driver and ex-Red Bull junior Doohan during an appearance on Red Bull’s in-house station Servus TV, before adding: “I don’t think he will complete the season,” referring to ongoing rumours that Alpine reserve Franco Colapinto could take his place on the team.
In the same broadcast, he gave Bortoleto a ‘B’ grade, claiming the Brazilian lacked “pure speed”. But the young driver proved otherwise by outqualifying Sauber team-mate Nico Hulkenberg ahead of the season opener, leaving Brundle, among others, thoroughly impressed.
“He seems very mature, and he’s coming off the back of winning F3 and F2,” Brundle said of Bortoleto on Sky F1 on Sunday, drawing parallels with past champions. “We know there’s a lot of great drivers that have done that, like Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, for example. I think he’s going to be quite a star of the future, this young Brazilian, and he’s shown well straight away.”
Sky F1’s Simon Lazenby couldn’t resist making a sly jibe in reaction to Brundle’s assessment, saying, “Not bad for [a] B-class driver as Dr. Helmut Marko was saying, eh?” to which, Brundle, 65, responded affirmatively: “Yeah, exactly,” before adding: “I think Helmut Marko needs to worry more about commenting on his own drivers than other people’s.”
In fairness, Marko was equally tough on Racing Bulls’ newcomer Hadjar. The 20-year-old was pictured in tears after crashing out on the formation lap, though Marko had limited sympathy for him, telling ORF that Hadjar “put on a tearful show” that was “a bit embarrassing”.
Meanwhile, amidst ongoing speculation about his Apline future, Doohan has received some positive reassurance. According to Brundle, who recently caught up with the 22-year-old’s dad Mick, Alpine are keen to keep their commitment to the youngster. This comes after he replaced Esteban Ocon in the seat last year.
It was later revealed that Doohan’s contract was only for a limited number of races, as chief Flavio Briatore wanted to assess the performance of their academy graduate. Speculation surrounding his potential early-season replacement has intensified following Alpine’s signing of Colapinto from Williams as a reserve driver, and neither Briatore nor team principal Oliver Oakes has publicly denied the rumours.
Discussing the situation on Sky Sports, Brundle stated: “It’s really hard for him. I saw a picture with four drivers – Pierre Gasly, him, Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron [another reserve]. If I were Jack, I’d think, ‘This should be a two-driver shoot, not a four-driver shoot’.”
He added: “Talking to Mick, he’s calm behind the scenes. Jack has been reassured that he has a contract. But you don’t want that on your mind – driving every weekend while thinking about your future isn’t ideal.
“I’ve been there before, and it’s tough,” Brundle added. “You’re constantly thinking about your career because it might end at any moment. Then the car starts sliding, and you get nervous because you don’t want to crash. It just adds pressure.”
On Sunday, Lando Norris narrowly beat Max Verstappen to claim the season’s first win, crossing the finish line less than a second ahead of the defending champion. George Russell secured the final podium spot, with Mercedes teammate Antonelli finishing fourth.
Ferrari had a disappointing start to the season, with Hamilton crossing the finish line in 10th place. Charles Leclerc didn’t perform much better, securing only an eighth-place finish. The next race on the calendar is the Chinese Grand Prix, set for March 23 in Shanghai.
