Christian Horner issues Red Bull statement over Helmut Marko comments

Christian Horner has spoken out on Helmut Marko's controversial comments about young Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar this week.

The irascible Austrian had labelled Hadjar's tears as 'embarrassing' after he crashed on the formation lap of his debut race last weekend, with Marko drawing criticism for his handling of the rookie's nightmare day.

Marko has become infamous for his forthright, often offensive and occasionally entirely inaccurate comments to the media, with a number of criticisms of Sergio Perez causing a stir in the last two years.

The latest comments on Hadjar were put to Horner on Sky Sports after the lone practice session for this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, with the Red Bull chief being asked if there's a place for Marko's style of management in 2025.

Is there a place for Helmut Marko in F1?

"Look, Helmut’s 82 [sic, 81] years of age," Horner said. "He’s old school. He’s a guy that lost an eye, pulled over the car and just turned the engine off.

"He will always have his own opinion, which he has the right to. Whether we share that opinion, no. It was very sad to see him [Hadjar] that upset, of course it was.

"You forget how young they are. He’s 20 years of age, he’s got a bright future ahead of him and he’ll be fine."

Hadjar will get a chance to rebound quickly from last weekend's disappointment, with the Chinese Grand Prix hosting the first sprint race of the season on Saturday.

The Frenchman is set to line up fifteenth on the grid for the 100km race ahead of the main event on Sunday.

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