Helmut Marko hits back at Sergio Perez’s staggering Red Bull digs

Helmut Marko has hit back at Sergio Perez’s recent criticism towards the Red Bull F1 team.

Perez, who is preparing to make a full-time return to F1 this season with new entrant Cadillac, made a series of staggering digs towards Red Bull in a recent appearance on Oso Trava’s Cracks podcast in his native Mexico.

Among the accusations, Perez claimed that “everything was a problem” during his time at Red Bull. The six-time grand prix winner was dropped from Red Bull’s 2025 driver line-up after a dramatic form decline in 2024.

Former Red Bull motorsport advisor Marko has responded to Perez’s allegations, admitting he found the comments “surprising”.

“It is somewhat surprising, because we should not forget that Checo Pérez did not have a contract. He was fired from the racing team he practically kept alive,” the 82-year-old Austrian told ORF.

“I don’t know exactly how many Grand Prix races he won, but especially in 2022 he was in the race for the world championship for a while.

“That he eventually stopped performing had several reasons, but overall I think Checo made his career with us.”

What did Perez say about Red Bull?

Perez took several swipes at Red Bull on the podcast.

"At Red Bull, everything was a problem,” he said. "If I was too fast, it was a problem, because, of course, it created a very tense atmosphere at Red Bull.

"If I was faster than Max, it was a problem. If I was slower than Max, it was a problem [laughs].

"So, everything was a problem. I also learned a lot. That in the circumstances I'm in, instead of complaining, I have to do the best I can, and get the most out of it.”

Perez claimed to be a “distraction” for former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

"I remember when I was in my farewell with Christian, I said to him: 'Hey, Christian, what are you going to do when it doesn't work out with Liam?’," he continued.

”'Well, there's Yuki'. And what are you going to do when it doesn't work out? 'No, we have lots of drivers’.

"I said to him: well, you're going to use them all. He said, 'Yes, I know’.

"We already knew, but there was also so much pressure that year. Christian had some problems, so it was also a bit that I was a distraction.

"Nobody talked about anything else but me, about my performance, about how badly I was doing.”

Perez also said "only someone who is mentally strong can survive something like that" when you "have your whole team against you publicly". 

Perez's replacement, Liam Lawson, was axed after two nightmare races. 

Yuki Tsunoda was brought in but was sacked after a disappointing 2025 season, with Isack Hadjar promoted to the senior team.