It鈥檚 always great to reunite with old friends.
Max Verstappen said he would be happy to welcome his fellow four-time Formula 1 world champion and Red Bull predecessor Sebastian Vettel to the team in an advisory role 鈥 possibly replacing Helmut Marko.
The 82-year-old Marko, a former racer who was blinded in one eye after a stone pierced his visor during the 1972 French Grand Prix in Clermont-Ferrand, has a contract with Red Bull Racing until the end of next year.
Vettel, now 37, won consecutive titles with Red Bull from 2010-13 and retired from the sport back in 2022 after stints at Ferrari and Aston Martin.
Max Verstappen on Sebastian Vettel possible return
鈥淚 mean it more than normal that someone who achieved so much with RB In a sense there is always a spot available Seb always kept a good relationship w Helmut I am sure there is always a space for Seb鈥漰ic.twitter.com/ScK2ZCO9K0
鈥 Laura 馃 (@formuLau16) June 26, 2025
鈥淚t鈥檚 more than normal that someone who has achieved so much with Red Bull, has been brought up by Red Bull (should return),鈥 Verstappen stated ahead of the Austrian GP.
鈥淚n a sense, there鈥檚 always a spot available, right?
鈥淚 think also Seb always kept a really good relationship with Helmut anyway, even when he left. I didn鈥檛 know that, of course, they were talking, but I鈥檓 sure that there鈥檚 always a space for Seb in any kind of form.鈥
Marko has been involved with Red Bull since the team鈥檚 beginnings in 2005, initially as the late Dietrich Mateschitz鈥檚 advisor and later as a key player in its driver management.
Earlier this week, Vettel said he was in early talks with Marko about the idea of succeeding the 82-year-old Austrian when his contract with the team ends in 2026.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in contact about this, though maybe not so intensively or in-depth yet, but it鈥檚 possible,鈥 Vettel told Austrian broadcaster ORF.
鈥淲hat form that might take will have to be seen. He鈥檚 already said a few times that he鈥檇 stop, but he鈥檚 still here, and I wish him all the best so that he stays around for a very long time.
鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 think the goal is to have someone come in who simply replaces him. But maybe, whoever it is, it would be nice if the work he鈥檚 put in is carried on.鈥
Marko, on the other hand, told Austria鈥檚 Kleine Zeitung on Wednesday that Vettel was following everything very closely.
鈥淭he question of succession is also one of the issues,鈥 he said.