Buemi: Marco did what no one else had been able to do.

      Sébastien Buemi has worked with Red Bull for many years — at one time he raced in Formula 1 for Toro Rosso, but he did not lose ties with the Austrian company when he continued his career in endurance racing and Formula E.

      The Swiss driver was one of the first to be accepted into Red Bull's junior programme in 2004, and today he can rightfully be considered a motorsport veteran — Sébastien became WEC champion four times with the Toyota team, and also won the Formula E title in 2016.

      He speaks gratefully of Helmut Marko, who parted ways with Red Bull shortly after the end of last season, and highly appreciates his contribution to nurturing young racing talents.

      "I haven't spoken to him yet, although I was going to call him," Buemi told RacingNews365. "Yes, he made many decisions and to a large extent shaped my view of what Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls are. I didn't always agree with his decisions, but I have great respect for everything he did. He achieved what no one had before; for example, it was Marko who trusted the young Max Verstappen to drive a Formula 1 car, as well as Sebastian Vettel or me. Although in the past bringing such young drivers into the championship was not considered normal.

      And now you see how Mercedes are working with Kimi Antonelli — I don't think they would have taken such a step if Helmut hadn't had success with Max. Overall, in my opinion, the decisions he made have to some extent changed the world of motorsport."

      When Buemi was asked whether Helmut Marko can be considered the best talent-spotter in Formula 1 history, Sébastien agreed:

      "Yes, but of course he had all the necessary resources at his disposal. But he consistently ran that programme for many years, and look at how many drivers who went through Red Bull's junior team later went on to achieve wins in Formula 1 or at Le Mans. One of the programme's strengths was precisely its stability.

      We have seen that Renault, Ferrari, Toyota and Mercedes also tried to set up their own junior programmes, but they appeared and then stopped. I would say that the Red Bull programme remains the most stable. Possibly thanks to the fact that they have two of their own teams in Formula 1..."