Revealed: The eight-figure Red Bull payout Helmut Marko received

Helmut Marko is set to receive an eight-figure payout following his exit from the Red Bull F1 team.

The 82-year-old Austrian will be handed his full salary for 2026 when he parts ways with Red Bull at the end of the year, according to German publication Bild.

Bild report Marko will pocket €10m (£8.7m) when he walks away from his role as motorsport advisor.

Red Bull officially confirmed Marko’s departure after more than 20 years at the team following the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

There was much speculation surrounding the exact nature of Marko’s sudden exit, but he himself insisted it was his decision to step away a year earlier than planned. 

“I have been involved in motorsport for six decades now, and the past 20-plus years at Red Bull have been an extraordinary and extremely successful journey,” Marko said at the time his departure was announced. 

“It has been a wonderful time that I have been able to help shape and share with so many talented people. Everything we have built and achieved together fills me with pride.

“Narrowly missing out on the world championship this season has moved me deeply and made it clear to me that now is the right moment for me personally to end this very long, intense, and successful chapter.

“I wish the entire team continued success and am convinced that they will be fighting for both world championship titles again next year.”

During his time at Red Bull, Marko was in charge of the team’s driver development programme, and was responsible for bringing through the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.

Marko’s explosive Horner claim

Marko has since made a series of explosive claims about former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

“Those final years with Horner were not pleasant,” he told De Limburger. “Dirty games were being played. Do you remember when it was claimed that I said Mexicans were less focused than Dutch or German people during Sergio Perez’s time? That was fabricated - possibly by them [Horner's camp].

“The same goes for the claim that in 2024 I spread the story that our engine development was behind schedule and that we would therefore lose Ford as a partner. I never said that, but Horner wanted to use it to have me suspended. Because of Max's support in Jeddah, that didn’t happen.

“More and more often, we were able to prove that Horner lied about all sorts of things. Once Chalerm realised that too, he changed his mind.”