F1 News: More war means 'harder times ahead'

(GMM) “Harder times are ahead” for the world, predicts Red Bull’s Formula 1 advisor Dr Helmut Marko (pictured).

The Ukraine-Russia crisis has been in progress for years now, and since then conflicts in the Middle East have flared – including the latest ones in Israel and Iran.

“Thankfully, Austria isn’t directly affected by all the war events,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung ahead of this weekend’s grand prix at the Red Bull Ring.

“But it’s a dangerous situation,” he added. “In Ukraine, 600 kilometers away, things are escalating – also in the Middle East. “But whether it’s football or Formula 1, it still goes on.

“Perhaps it’s a good distraction for people to put the potentially massive threat into the background,” said Marko, 82.

Marko is right to identify the escalating situation as a threat – even to the remainder of the Formula 1 calendar in 2025.

Baku is close to the conflict zones, as are Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

“No one could have imagined that a war would break out so close to us,” Austrian Marko continued. “The images are simply horrific.

“Who will finance the reconstruction? And first of all, the weapons? Harder times are ahead,” he warns.