Helmut Marko still ‘angry’ about incident from 25 years ago

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Red Bull chief Helmut Marko is still “angry” with former F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya over 25 years after one incident, according to the Colombian. Montoya drove for the RSM Marko squad in the 1997 Formula 3000 series back in 1997 as he worked his way up the motorsport ladder.

The future Williams F1 star enjoyed a strong season with three wins to put him in the title hunt. However, he missed out on the crown by just 1.5 points after losing out to Ricardo Zonta.

Montoya eventually made it to American single-seater racing with appearances in CART before entering F1 in 2001. But, he feels the Red Bull chief is still annoyed over his failure to secure the top prize.

He said: “He is angry with me to this day. He thinks I deliberately let the championship run in the penultimate round in Mugello. We simply had the top gear set incorrectly. Every time I went to top gear, the engine started to stutter, because the gear was made too long.

“Jason Watt sat in front of me. I always rode towards him with playful ease, after which I seemed to pass him. But once in top gear, he drove away from me again. And so it went throughout the race.

“That was so frustrating. But Marko still thinks I gave away the championship.” Marko’s race team was effectively a young driver programme with many of its drivers reaching F1.

Karl Wendlinger, Enrique Bernoldi, Markus Freisacher and Vitantonio Liuzzi all went on to secure drives in the sport. Marko was eventually put in charge of the Red Bull junior squad to oversee the development of future stars such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

The 79-year-old has been accused of being tough on his junior talent with former driver Jaime Alguersuari admitting he “needed therapy” after working with him.

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However, Montoya feels his stint with Marko had positive ramifications for his future career at the top of the sport. He added: “It was tough at the time, but in the end he made me a better driver.

“He always yelled that I had a lot of problems and that I was crazy and everything. But he did so with the right intentions. He was pushing me all the time to be a better person.”

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