Red Bull star left none the wiser as Helmut Marko shows ruthless side with dramatic move
Red Bull chief Helmut Marko is set to showcase his ruthless streak once again.
Enzo Fittipaldi has revealed that he is yet to personally hear about the upcoming Red Bull academy driver cuts as Helmut Marko prepares to wield his axe and drastically reduce the team’s presence in the Formula 2 series.
The 80-year-old Austrian is currently in charge of Red Bull’s driver development programme and has been responsible for identifying and signing up reigning world champion Max Verstappen and the legendary Sebastian Vettel, who claimed the team’s first titles at the beginning of the last decade.
Thanks to the work of Marko, the Red Bull livery has been a near-constant presence on the F2 and F3 grids in recent years, but that is all about to change. As confirmed by team principal Christian Horner, the team will be scaling back their support of F2 drivers to focus on talents in the earlier stages of their junior careers.
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“I haven’t actually seen that,” Fittipaldi told The Mirror when asked about the upcoming Red Bull driver academy cuts. “I’m just focused on doing my job in my Formula 2 season and securing great results until the end of the season.”
The 22-year-old is currently enjoying his summer break having recorded the best points haul of his F2 career in Belgium last time out. Fittipaldi beat Richard Verschoor to score his maiden F2 victory in the sprint race, before climbing his way to an impressive podium in the feature race on Sunday.
Despite an immense weekend at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the Brazilian driver sits only P7 in the driver standings and is unlikely to ever get the call-up to drive for AlphaTauri in F1 thanks to the bloated state of the Red Bull driver development programme.
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“I haven’t actually seen that,” Fittipaldi told The Mirror when asked about the upcoming Red Bull driver academy cuts. “I’m just focused on doing my job in my Formula 2 season and securing great results until the end of the season.”
The 22-year-old is currently enjoying his summer break having recorded the best points haul of his F2 career in Belgium last time out. Fittipaldi beat Richard Verschoor to score his maiden F2 victory in the sprint race, before climbing his way to an impressive podium in the feature race on Sunday.
Despite an immense weekend at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the Brazilian driver sits only P7 in the driver standings and is unlikely to ever get the call-up to drive for AlphaTauri in F1 thanks to the bloated state of the Red Bull driver development programme.