Helmut Marko, amid rumours regarding the sale of AlphaTauri, confirmed the Red Bull organization aren’t happy with the Italian team’s performances, both sporting and financial.
However, that doesn’t mean that Red Bull are looking to offload AlphaTauri. Instead, the plan is to set a plan in motion to help the team improve and hit its targets both on and off track.
AlphaTauri used to be named Toro Rosso between the 2006 and 2019 Formula 1 seasons, and acted as testing bed for junior Red Bull drivers before being promoted to the senior team, the team head by Franz Tost developing drivers like Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and others.
The team was rebranded AlphaTauri in 2020 to promote the Red Bull-owned clothing business carrying the same name, but the team finished seventh, sixth, then ninth in 2020, 2021, and 2022 respectively, something reportedly being frowned upon by new Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, who replaced the late Dietrich Mateschitz at the helm of the energy drinks organization.
Earlier this year many reports have emerged claiming the AlphaTauri are up for sale, which instigated an official statement by team boss Franz Tost denying all these allegations.
In a recent interview with Formel1.de’s YouTube channel, part of the Motorsport network, Red Bull consultant Dr. Helmut Marko was asked about the AlphaTauri topic, and whether there were intentions to sell the team.
There needs to be an improvement at Faenza
“It’s true that AlphaTauri’s ninth place in the constructors’ championship is not what we expect,” the Austrian said. “That means there has to be an improvement.
“It is also true that the financial commitment at AlphaTauri is too high, this means that we also have to do something on the sponsor side, on the revenue side,” he added.
However, Marko insisted that many options were discussed, selling the team never one of them; he commented: “In the course of this process we also discussed the possibilities, but it was always very clear that AlphaTauri would remain in-house. That is an important part of our junior work.
“As mentioned, neither sporting performance nor financial performance meet Red Bull’s standards, so we have to do something to change that,” he maintained.
Asked if moving the team from Faenza to the United Kingdom is one of the options; noting that AlphaTauri already have a small base of operation there; Marko responded: “It’s obvious that we’re playing through various options, including England.
“AlphaTauri already has over 100 employees in England. It’s a split between Italy and England because it’s much easier to find employees in England. But the idea that the entire team will immediately move over there is also an overinterpretation.”
As for the target position in the 2023 Formula 1 season’s Constructors’ Championship, Marko said: “Anything between sixth and seventh is acceptable”.
AlphaTauri failed to score points at the opening round of the 2023 F1 season in Bahrain, with Yuki Tsunoda finishing 11th while newcomer Nyck de Vries was 14th.