“Take it or leave it”: Red Bull’s manipulative tactics to get manager-less teenage driver to sign lopsided agreement

Former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat has revealed how Red Bull technical advisor Helmut Marko manipulated a deal in such a way that it would never favour him, with an ultimatum of ‘take it or leave it’ back when he first signed with the team as a teenager.

Red Bull and Helmut Marko’s ruthless approach to dealing with their drivers is unlikely to come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the sport closely. However, the fact that Kvyat was just a teenager at the time without a proper manager meant that he had no choice but to accept the terms in front of him.

Christian Horner and Helmut Marko. Credit: planetf1.com
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko. Credit: planetf1.com

Kvyat may well have featured for Red Bull for a while, but he was forced to eventually make way for Max Verstappen, who later also went on to date Kvyat’s girlfriend at the time. If ever you wwanted to speak about poetic justice, this is probably not the time.

“That’s where I got Red Bull’s attention,” Kvyat said.

“I went to Varano in Italy for a test in a Formula BMW. It was with Carlos Sainz and a more experienced driver, Felipe Nasr, so there was a reference for us.

“Helmut Marko was very happy with the test and said, ‘If this is really your first time then it’s very good’.

“We signed the contract after that when me and my father came to the grand prix in Valencia.

“Helmut said, ‘Look, I appreciate your results, I’ve heard a lot of good things, here’s a contract, read it overnight and come back to me if you want to take it or leave it’.

“At that point, what do you do? You just accept whatever terms are there, as many years as there are, and you sign it.”

Read more: Alex Albon underlines orchestrated games at Red Bull that forced him into sabotaging personal career

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