Ousted Red Bull Advisor Dr Helmut Marko has ruled out Max Verstappen as the potential 2026 Formula 1 world champion, throwing his weight behind several of his rivals.
Losing the 2025 championship by just two points following a phenomenal comeback in the second half of the season, Verstappen’s reign as champion ended after four consecutive titles.
Entering 2026, the Dutchman has to master all the new technical regulations, with the added challenge of new power units that will push manufacturer reliability.
Power unit failures became a rarity in the final years of the previous regulations, such was the effort by the manufacturers to eradicate retirements caused by a blown engine.
With new complex rules and Red Bull debuting its own engine collaboration with Ford, Marko thinks performance gaps seen in 2014 could reappear.
“Last year, the field was closer together than ever,” Marko said to ORF.
“I believe that this will diverge significantly. I fear that the gaps will increase drastically.
“You have to remember that we have the combustion engine, we have the battery, then the software for the feed-in. So these are some factors together with the CO2-free fuel.
“I hope there won’t be such differences as in 2014, where Mercedes drove up and away from everyone.”
Marko’s surprising take on 2026 champion
Giving his take on who will take the 2026 title, Marko was downbeat on Red Bull’s chances, choosing its fiercest on-track rival.
Mercedes is rumoured to have mastered the engine compression ratio loophole, with Marko believing a driver powered by the three pointed star likely to become world champion.
“I’m afraid it will be someone who uses the Mercedes engine,” he said
“So it could be Lando Norris again.
“Williams is also making quite a bit of progress, one hears.
“And if George Russell wants to be at the top, he has to implement that now and compete for the World Championship.”
Marko believes that despite the challenges Verstappen faces, the Dutchman’s ability to think while driving in the limit will aid him in Red Bull’s new era with Ford.
“That will be an immense advantage for Max, because he can drive really fast and think at the same time. But even a veteran like Fernando Alonso could also have his advantage. So the driver is now becoming even more important.”
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