It’s Easier to Not Keep him in Mind – Red Bull

Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko has explained the departure of Toro Rosso’s technical director James Key, who will make the switch to McLaren later next season, as Marko revealed Key didn’t share the vision of Toro Rosso.

Marko did manage to delay the departure of Key as he won’t leave until the end of the season, but he might regret this now, as he seemingly seems to argue that he wants Key out of the team.

“Dietrich Mateschitz gave us the task to get a closer relationship with Toro Rosso, and with that, one thing has to be avoided; to have different people at both teams doing the same job,” Marko explained to Motorsport-Total.com.

“We had a plan for this, a plan which hasn’t been completed yet, but a plan James Key didn’t agree with.

“In the end, I think it’s easier to not keep him in mind and I think this is the best solution.”

With Adrian Newey at Red Bull, the Bulls design the bigger part of the Toro Rosso-car, which would keep Key out of a job in the long term. He saw this coming and decided to jump ship to McLaren.

“We won’t try to fill the vacancy for technical director at Toro Rosso with someone else. The function is no longer necessary as Red Bull’s concept will be used [at Toro Rosso].”

The Austrian outfit will be looking forward to the 2019 season with a lineup consisting of Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly. They will also be looking forward to their maiden season with Honda, after the latter’s maiden outing with Honda.

The question now is, how will Red Bull fare in 2019 against Mercedes and Ferrari. With new rules in place next year, things will certainly be interesting for the F1 paddock.