Helmut Marko told Nikola Tsolov ‘everything staying the same’ at Red Bull

Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov opened up on a phone call from Helmut Marko ahead of the announcement that he was leaving Red Bull.

Marko was the demanding, no-nonsense, but opportunity-giving leader of the Red Bull Junior Team. He told Tsolov that his departure would change little about the Red Bull junior system, a statement which Tsolov says has rung true.

Helmut Marko on Red Bull Junior Team: ‘Everything staying the same’

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Marko had been a part of Red Bull’s Formula 1 operation since day one. From 2005-2025, he served as senior advisor and head of its driver academy. Marko would leave Red Bull following the 2025 season.

Shortly before that announcement, he reached out to Red Bull’s most advanced junior along that ladder to Formula 1, Nikola Tsolov.

A former member of the Alpine Academy, Tsolov was picked up by Red Bull at the start of 2025. He finished runner-up in the Formula 3 Championship. For 2026, he makes the full-time step up to Formula 2 with Campos.

Marko’s words to Tsolov set the tone for how Red Bull’s junior team would continue to operate.

Sebastian Vettel’s former racer engineer Guillaume Rocquelin, also known as ‘Rocky’, serves as the Red Bull Junior Team principal.

“He called me, I think the day before it was announced he was about to leave,” Tsolov said of Marko when speaking with PlanetF1.com and others.

“I was in Abu Dhabi for the test, and he basically told me, ‘Everything is staying the same way. You still have to perform. You still have to win races, and that’s the number one thing.’ He said I did it well last year in Formula 3, and all he’s expecting is for me to do it once again, and nothing else should change.

“And really, everything has been pretty much the same way since he left. So he managed to build, let’s say, that structure that still works now, which is good.”

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Red Bull boasts what is widely considered to be Formula 1’s most successful driver academy. It has produced a pair of four-time World Champions in Max Verstappen and Vettel, while Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz became multi-time grand prix winners, as part of the collection of F1 graduates.

Red Bull’s talent line remains in good health. Another driver experiencing the Red Bull academy’s move into post-Marko territory is Ernesto Rivera.

The 17-year-old, from Mexico, took three Eurocup-3 race wins last year, on his way to fourth in the championship. He steps up to F3 for 2026, as one of three Red Bull representatives in the category.

Rivera agreed that little has changed despite Marko’s exit.

“I’ve learned a lot while being in the Red Bull junior team. The simulator is great over there, the engineers are great,” he told PlanetF1.com.

“We have a lot of homework, so they keep us working really hard.

“Also on the physical side, we also have a lot of physical tests, so we have to be fit.

“The atmosphere is still the same. Same expectation as when Dr Marko was there. So yeah, not much changed.”

Fionn McLoughlin, a Red Bull junior since 2024, is also preparing for his debut F3 campaign, off the back of winning the F4 British title.

Again, he is feeling no great shifts in the Red Bull atmosphere.

“Red Bull Junior Team is a great team to be a part of, even the Red Bull community,” he said in response to PlanetF1.com. “They’re such a big brand, and to get the support from someone so big, I’m quite grateful for.

“The support they give in the factory, simulator work and physically in the gym, I think it’s just everything that you need to improve as a driver.

“I don’t think the atmosphere has changed so much. There’s obviously going to be small things, but it’s not for me to say, and the only thing for me to do is whatever I’m given to do, and I’ll do.

“So for me, it’s all about doing the best I can on track and to prove to Red Bull that I’m going to be one of the best drivers in the world.”

Completing Red Bull’s F3 2026 trio is Mattia Colnaghi, the reigning Eurocup-3 champion.

He was picked up by Red Bull back in August, after impressing Marko at a Red Bull Junior Team Driver Search event.

He believes that Red Bull’s expectation of results is natural, and a pressure which he also applies upon himself.

“I think it’s a situation where, obviously, you need the results to get to F1, you need the backing of the results,” he told PlanetF1.com.

“At the end of the day, it is a performance sport, so I’m not surprised that they are putting expectation and there is pressure.

“But to be honest, I’m quite hard on myself already. I expect the best from myself. I have in the past two years of my career, and I will also this year.

“It’s kind of a mutual thing, where they expect something, but I also expect it from myself, so it’s not too different to what I would do.”

The F2 and F3 seasons kick-off in Melbourne across 6-8 March.

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