Helmut Marko says James Key will not be allowed to join the McLaren F1 Team whilst he is under contract with the Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda team, and their rivals will therefore be waiting a long time for his arrival.
McLaren announced that Key would become their new technical director as part of their management reshuffle, but this has yet to be released by Toro Rosso due to him having a long-term contract in place, with Red Bull advisor Marko insisting they want their technical director to fulfil his duties with his current employers.
“He has a long-term contract with Toro Rosso,” said Marko to Autosport. “We had a discussion with Zak, and instead of coming back to us, there was a press release done.
“So we’ll stick to the contract, and McLaren will have to wait for quite a long time.”
Marko says there is expectation within the Red Bull family to see Key see out his contract and remain in his role with Toro Rosso, and he has not ruled out legal action being taken against McLaren for their approach on him.
“Of course. There’s a contract for quite a long time. Why do we have contracts?” said Marko. “We have to analyse the whole situation.
“As McLaren is making press announcements, we have to look seriously at the legal situation. But it’s sure we won’t release him earlier.”
Marko insists while the situation continues with Key, he will not be allowed access to the latest information about the STR13.
“As far as I know he’s on holiday at the moment, and we won’t put him in a position where he gets all the latest information, that’s clear,” said Marko.
