Red Bull's search for the X Factor

Helmut Marko is portrayed as something of a pantomime villain in the English-speaking corners of Formula 1 fandom.

As Dietrich Mateschitz's man in the paddock, he is seen as a Machiavellian power-behind-the-throne, whose machinations and whims decide the fates of countless Red Bull-affiliated drivers through the junior programme he has long run.

While Marko is certainly no diplomat, the caricature is unfair. After all, no one individual has come close to being responsible for as many drivers reaching F1 in recent years than the 70-year-old Austrian.

Next year, Daniel Ricciardo will become only the second driver from the Red Bull junior programme, which has its roots in Marko's own Formula 3000 squad in 1999, to drive for the energy drinks manufacturer's 'A' team.

The scheme sets infamously high standards, not only discarding drivers such as Jaime Alguersuari and Vitantonio Liuzzi after promoting them to F1, but also dropping scores of hopefuls before they even get there.

Often criticised as harsh, the Red Bull scheme has also produced a triple (and soon surely quadruple) world champion in Sebastian Vettel. So Dr (of law) Marko makes no apologies for the ambition of the scheme, which intensified its focus on producing great, not just good, grand prix drivers since Red Bull acquired its own team for 2005.

Red Bull brought Liuzzi into F1 but ultimately decided he didn't have what it takes © XPB

"When we started our programme, we didn't have a Formula 1 team," explains Marko. "Now we have an F1 team which is winning and another team [Toro Rosso] which is on its way up. So the approach changed from supporting drivers to make it into F1 to getting a winning driver in F1.

"If we see a weakness in the driver, yes we stop. So you might say we are harsh. But 90 per cent of the drivers who were with us are racing in the DTM or whatever. These are people who in their normal lives, in a normal profession, would not earn one tenth of what they are earning there so the benefit is enormous.

"Not everyone can make it to be a winning F1 driver, or even be in F1, because it is tough. And if there are weaknesses, the pressures get more and more [at higher levels]."

While it is easy to be lured into a knee-jerk reaction and conclude that Red Bull has abused the careers of countless drivers, Marko has a point. Professional motorsport is littered with ex-Red Bull pilots.

He cited the DTM, in which ex-Red Bull-associated racers Filipe Albuquerque, Daniel Juncadella and Robert Wickens are all earning a living. And while it is perhaps an overstatement to say 90 per cent of Red Bull alumni are earning big money in racing, a good proportion are.

Last week, AUTOSPORT revealed that another ex-Red Bull racer, Brendon Hartley, who made it to Formula Renault 3.5 and tested for Toro Rosso before being axed in 2010, is a strong contender to join Porsche's LMP1 squad next year after starring in the European Le Mans Series.

Immediately after being dropped by Red Bull three years ago, Hartley's mature response stood out. He recognised that without the company's funds he was desperately unlikely to have made it as far as he did, an attitude he maintains to this day. And considering his disappointing form in FR 3.5, it was a justified decision to let him go.

"It was tough, maybe life-changing even," says Hartley. "I'd been with Red Bull a long time. But straight away I was thinking about what I was going to do next. It was quite a nice experience because it's something I had never done before.

Hartley built a career in sportscars after losing his Red Bull support © XPB

"I have no hard feelings towards Red Bull. They looked after me for five seasons and I'm here today because of them. Without them, there would be no way I'd still be racing. They gave me a big chance, and it was a real chance, but it didn't happen for a number of reasons."

Other drivers have been less satisfied with their lot. And there have certainly been some who appear to have been dropped prematurely. For example, Lewis Williamson was axed mid-season in FR3.5 two years ago yet was sufficiently highly-regarded by the Red Bull F1 team to be given a contract as a simulator driver by team principal Christian Horner.

Alguersuari, promoted to F1 mid-season in 2009 with no testing, feels he was harshly treated after losing a seat he was led to believe was safe after the 2011 season. But, as Horner has revealed, this decision was driven by Red Bull owner Mateschitz and Adrian Newey.

"I scored 26 points with a car that was clearly less competitive than today's STR," says Alguersuari, who believes he did more than Ricciardo to earn promotion to Red Bull.

These are just a few examples, but Marko insists drivers are only dropped if they have shown an irresolvable weakness. Red Bull certainly cannot be faulted for the amount of work it does with drivers.

"A good example is our diagnostic institute in Austria," says Marko. "Don't ask me how many doctors, psychologists and so on it has. They have regular tests and part of the contract is that if the drivers don't fulfil the criteria they are asked for, we stop the contract. So physical and mental fitness is one part.

Marko believes Vettel has set a standard all drivers must aspire to © XPB

"The other part is we normally put them in top teams. We support them with physios who have experience and if we see a mental weakness, then we help. We also have simulators at Milton Keynes, an important tool. All of the ingredients are there. And we are brave and we make decisions.

"We have been criticised for taking Ricciardo [for Red Bull's F1 team] and yes, we took a risk. But looking at the medium term it was Ricciardo who was the best decision and it opens up another seat for a driver. We give drivers chances."

Approach off-track is as critical as results on it for Marko. He is known to see Vettel, with whom he has what one source describes as a "almost paternal" relationship, as the template for the right mindset. Vettel is hard-working and not afraid to admit his errors within the team, a quality Ricciardo shares.

Work rate in isolation cannot get a driver through the Red Bull scheme, but it is undoubtedly a prerequisite as far as Marko is concerned. When asked about this, he offers an insight into one of the reasons why Kimi Raikkonen was not signed for 2014.

"I only know one driver who is really competitive in F1 who does not do what a normal rival is doing on fitness and work - Raikkonen," says Marko.

"If he had the life and the approach of Vettel, nobody would see him. But the older you are, the harder it gets. I am a big fan of Kimi's 'reaction' driving. It is unbelievable. But the driver must do everything within their capability to support what we put in."

Da Costa is at the top of Red Bull's ladder but under big pressure © LAT

Right now, the driver enduring the most intense scrutiny at Red Bull is Antonio Felix da Costa. He is on pole position to secure the vacant STR seat in 2014, but his Formula Renault 3.5 season has been disappointing. His recent form has been good following talks with Marko during the Austrian round of the championship in July, and he accepts the pressure of the situation.

"They [Red Bull] are understanding, but on the other hand they want more, and that is the right thing," says da Costa. "The bosses want results, not explanations and it's my job to fix the problems and give them the results so they have the reasons to promote me.

"If you have Helmut Marko dealing with us young kids, he cannot be the nicest guy in the world. If we cannot take the pressure now then why would we be able to fight for the world championship in F1? If they give me a hard time, it's because they want me to do well, it's not to put me down."

Marko will continue to hold up Vettel as the template for its junior drivers. He sums up the approach for the future of the programme very simply.

"Basically, it must be a driver capable of winning a grand prix in F1," he says. "Not necessarily a championship because that depends on so many things. They must have the talent and the commitment if they are to make it in the right team to win a race.

"We have told Ricciardo what we expect: to bring home the necessary points to win the constructors' championship. After three to five races, we want him to challenge Vettel because Vettel is only a human being. It's good if someone can push him to the limits, like Mark [Webber] did quite often."

Inevitably, the standards remain high even at the pinnacle of Red Bull's ladder. Ricciardo's job is now to deliver under the most intense pressure with one of the sport's all-time greats as a yardstick. And contrary to what some critics will claim, armed with the #2 Red Bull he will have the machinery to do so.

When it comes to the Red Bull driver scheme, the pressure only ever increases.