Since joining the team in 2006, the 65-year-old has played a pivotal role in Red Bull collecting 13 championship wins across two dominant spells, designing cars for the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, who is on course for a fourth consecutive world drivers' title
Speculation over the future of the man widely regarded as the sport's greatest-ever designer has been mounting since the announcement, with the likes of Ferrari strongly linked with making a move to secure his signature.
Red Bull rivals warned
While admitting Newey's exit will have a 'painful' impact at Red Bull, Marko has issued a warning to those hoping for a 'domino effect', insisting that the engineer had already stepped back from his day-to-day involvement in operations, a move which did not destabilise their dominance of the sport.
“I have already said that he is an outstanding designer personality who has somehow lost his fire,” Marko wrote in a column for Speedweek.
“I’m personally very sorry about this, but we have a very broad and well-positioned technical team over the years, with experienced people like Pierre Waché and younger people like Enrico Balbo or Ben Waterhouse.
“We are well-positioned in all areas and I see it as wishful thinking on the part of the competition that there will be a domino effect - so far, there are no signs of this happening.
“You also have to remember that he was no longer with the company on a day-to-day basis. He was more the one who oversaw the whole thing."