F1 News: Former Red Bull Junior Driver Brands Helmut Marko "Unfair" And "Brutally Honest"

The junior driver was excluded from Red Bull's junior program.

18-year-old Jak Crawford, who was ousted from Red Bull's junior program last year, revealed his experience of Helmut Marko's "brutally honest" attitude toward him, which he thought was "unfair". He revealed that the last thing a driver would want is to experience a bad weekend and receive a phone call from Marko for a meeting.

Crawford was dropped by the Milton Keynes outfit on performance grounds last year after a decision was taken by Marko, who is in charge of Red Bull’s junior program. Revealing the details of the encounter with Red Bull's advisor, the American driver told Racer:

“I think the hardest things are obviously the pressure and expectation that is set on you.

“He puts a lot of faith in his drivers, but he also expects a lot. And sometimes, if you’re not directly in the F2 paddock, knowing what’s going on, it can be difficult to tell with regards to team performance or driver performance and stuff like that.

“So sometimes that can play a factor in how he sees things. But definitely the biggest thing is, the last thing you want is to have a bad weekend and receive a phone call from Helmut to say to come meet him.

“He’s very busy, so you end up waiting on him. And then you sit there and he just walks up, and then he says, ‘So…’ in a very deep voice! Then he asks ‘What happened?’ And his conversations are very short, very straight to the point.

“Sometimes he’s brutally honest. That’s the right way to say it. Sometimes it can be too brutally honest, where it can be unfair at times, if you want to say, but it’s not so bad. To me it was very, very short, and very to the point.”

Red Bull Press Image

"Relieved of Pressure"

Crawford said that he was relieved of pressure after ending his F2 journey with Red Bull. He has now joined hands with Aston Martin, with the key difference being that he isn't under pressure anymore. He added:

“It’s quite a weird feeling – I feel like I’ve been doing this a long time, but then you look at my age, compared to most of the guys, I’m probably one of the youngest still in F2.

“So it’s very weird to look at, because I feel like I’ve had a long career in single-seaters so far. And you look at some of the guys there in their lower 20s, and they have a lot more experience than me in single-seaters.

“I feel like I’m in a good position. It’s a bit weird saying I’ve been in Red Bull for four years, and I’ve been dropped and I’m only 18. It is a bit weird to say that, but I do think it’s a good opportunity for myself, relieved of pressure.”

“I think it’s definitely possible to fight for the [F2] championship this year. That is my goal.

“And it’s also one that the F1 team has set out for me. It’s not like I’m under a lot of pressure from them to do that, it’s obviously just a goal, but it’s a goal for myself as well. So we’re on the same page.”

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