Red Bull's venerable good Doctor turns 80

There was a festive atmosphere in the Red Bull garage Friday in Baku where Helmut Marko was celebrated just a day after his 80th birthday.

The good 'Doctor' – feared and revered by many young drivers in motorsport – still oversees Red Bull's driver development programme as well as the energy drink company's involvement in Formula 1, rarely missing a Grand Prix weekend.

It's worth recalling that the Austrian took part in nine Grand Prix in the early 1970s with BRM.

However, Marko's major success came in sportscar racing with a triumph in the 1971 Le Mans 24 Hours in a Porsche 917 with team mate Gijs van Lennep.

Unfortunately, the Austrian's racing career came to an abrupt halt in 1972, when a stone pierced Marko's helmet at the French Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand, permanently blinding his left eye.

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