Chandhok recalls why he left Red Bull on ‘good terms’ with Horner and Marko

Former Red Bull junior Karun Chandhok said he left on “good terms” with then team principal Christian Horner and senior advisor Helmut Marko, claiming he was “one of the few” to do so.

But, that does not mean he had it easy from the no-nonsense Helmut Marko. Being hung up on mid-sentence, and being called “an old man”, were among the vintage Marko moments which Chandhok experienced.

Chandhok left Red Bull ‘on good terms’ with Horner and Marko

Red Bull boasts a standout driver academy, one which has produced multi-time World Champions in Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. Multi-time grand prix winners Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo also appear in the list of graduates to Formula 1.

A driver who was previously a part of that system was Karun Chandhok, for one year, in 2008.

While not with Red Bull, Chandhok did reach the F1 grid. He made 11 grand prix starts across stints with backmarker teams HRT and Lotus. He went on to become a key figure in Sky’s Formula 1 coverage as an analyst and commentator.

“I was a Red Bull junior, but I chose to leave it,” Chandhok revealed on Sky’s ‘The F1 Show’ podcast.

“I didn’t see a path into Toro Rosso at the time, so I went off to do something else.

“And I was one of the few, I think I left on good terms with Helmut and Christian.”

That did not make Chandhok immune, however, to Marko’s well-known blunt way of working.

“Helmut gave me my first F1 test, and I was on the junior team for a period of time. He was tough,” Chandhok continued.

“I remember sitting on EasyJet flights back when I was doing GP2, Formula 2 now, and you’re trying to explain what’s happened to your weekend, and he’d just go, ‘Well, that was not very good’. And he’d just hang up on you mid-sentence.

“I remember Valencia, he walked up to me in the paddock and said, ‘Hmm, 24, you’re now an old man. Better get on with it’, and just walked off. So, yeah, he was tough.”

More on Helmut Marko and Red Bull exit

Why Red Bull 2.0 left no room for renegade Helmut Marko

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That being said, Marko’s formula delivered, Chandhok states.

“But, you know what? He got results.

“And I think he was bold, where a lot of people in that paddock were conservative, by plucking Max Verstappen out of Formula 3, out of a single season of Formula 3, no other car racing… Max went from go karts, Formula 3, Formula 1. That was a massive step that Helmut backed, and Helmut chose to do, and he single-handedly made that call.

“You have to give him credit for making those sort of decisions.”

2025 brought about the departures of both Horner and Marko, who had been with Red Bull ever since its arrival on the F1 grid in 2005.

Horner was dismissed as team boss following the British Grand Prix, while Red Bull announced recently that Marko was to step down as a senior advisor. He has since been removed from his various directorships.

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