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Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko made his racing team in the corona crisis the controversial proposal to deliberately infect the drivers in a camp.
The 76-year-old Austrian gave the team the idea that the drivers could deliberately become infected with the virus in order to immunize themselves. “We have four Formula 1 drivers, we have eight or ten juniors, and the idea was that we would organize a camp where we could bridge this somewhat dead time mentally and physically. Then of course it would be ideal for the infection to come, ”said Marko at“ ORF1 – Sport am Sonntag ”.
His ulterior motive: the pilots were “all young, strong men who are in really good health”, who later “whenever it started” would have been prepared for a “probably very tough World Cup”.
An unconventional suggestion – especially because Marko recently said that Red Bulls flagship Max Verstappen was “terrified of being infected”.
Idea is not well received
When asked how the idea was received, Marko replied with a smile: “It was not received positively.” Red Bull runs its own youth academy and still has a sister team in Alpha Tauri.
Instead of at the camp, the drivers are currently keeping fit individually. The procedures therefore differ. Marko reveals: “For example, Max thinks I drive more races than in a real season. He drives this e-racing and sometimes contests several races a day ».
After the cancellation of the first eight Grand Prix of this Formula 1 season, Marko does not consider an extension of the season until January to be excluded. «If we choose a world champion in January, that’s okay. We skip the test drives, the chassis stays the same, the tires stay the same, and the cost of a test is roughly comparable to a race. In this way, we would have been more attractive at the same cost, »he said.
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