Marko claims F1 stars ‘blocking’ seats from youngsters

Red Bull F1 boss Helmut Marko has admitted the sport has a problem with promoting junior drivers up the ranks.

The 81-year-old motorsport advisor has overseen the Red Bull driver programme since the team's formation in 2005, having hand-picked some of the most impressive young talent the sport has ever seen.

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Having made no attempt to disguise that he is evaluating potential replacements for an underperforming Sergio Perez, it looks likely Marko is in favour of a lineup reshuffle sooner rather than later.

Daniel Ricciardo is another RB driver who faces uncertainty, still taking up a seat at VCARB, the junior team Marko has made clear should serve the purpose of preparing young stars for the front running outfit.

Helmut Marko warns F1 drivers

Speaking to Speedweek.com ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend, Marko relayed confidence in his young stars: “Isack [Hadjar] and Arvid [Lindblad] have great qualities, they are super fast and have Formula 1 quality. And we must not forget Ayumu Iwasa, who is currently in second place in the Super Formula in Japan."

Red Bull junior driver Hadjar got a taste of F1 action at the British Grand Prix last time out, replacing Perez for FP1 as the team's first rookie driver requirement of the season.

16-year-old Lindblad also turned heads at Silverstone, making history for Red Bull with a double victory in F2.

With Liam Lawson also waiting in the wings since impressing with his F1 debut last season, there are many drivers, all younger than both Perez and Ricciardo, who could be called upon to improve the Red Bull family's chances.

Comparing his decision to the career of soon-to-be F1 driver Oliver Bearman, Marko said: "His race in the Ferrari showed him his GP future. If you take his Formula 2 results into account, things would look a lot worse for him.

"But it's good that young people are coming to Formula 1, I'm absolutely in favour of that. I can't name any names, but there are drivers in the field who are stagnating and are better or worse depending on the mood. They are blocking the way for the young drivers. The teams are also afraid of juniors.

"Of course they make mistakes, but I'd rather someone makes mistakes and has hope for the future than there being no further improvement."

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