Helmut Marko declares Max Verstappen would beat Lewis Hamilton even in ‘mediocre’ Red Bull
Helmut Marko made a bold claim over Max Verstappen winning in a mediocre Red Bull chassis against Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari.
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Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)
Max Verstappen continued his streak of impressive performances in the 2024 season despite facing massive performance struggles with the Red Bull chassis. Lewis Hamilton, who was the closest competitor of Verstappen at one point, fell behind the pack due to Mercedes’ issues. However, Hamilton’s move to Ferrari might witness a revival of competition between the two.
Helmut Marko waged his opinions over the competition between the two drivers amidst Red Bull’s struggling pace against Ferrari’s upturning performance. Marko pinpointed McLaren and Ferrari as the main competitors for Milton Keynes in the 2025 season. However, the Austrian believed that none of the drivers in the top teams were good enough to win against Verstappen.
The two race teams had the best base for their cars last season and were able to perform well on most circuits. They can build on that. But: none of the drivers stand out for me.
Helmut Marko told Sport Bild
Apart from Ferrari’s improving pace, Marko believed that Max Verstappen remained superior in terms of winning chances. The 81-year-old claimed that Lewis Hamilton with a superior chassis in Ferrari couldn’t beat Verstappen. The Austrian highlighted that he would put his money on the Red Bull star even if the former had a ‘mediocre chassis’.
Even if he has a good Ferrari and we build a mediocre Red Bull for Max, I would put my money on Max.
Helmut Marko added
Helmut Marko ‘doubtful’ over Lewis Hamilton beating Charles Leclerc in 2025
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will form a highly formidable pair at Ferrari and grant massive success to the team. However, Leclerc’s superior qualifying pace and Hamilton’s woeful streak of performances in qualifying might cause the latter to lose out. Helmut Marko claimed that the Monegasque was good in qualifying while struggling during races. The Briton on the other hand had the speed but couldn’t keep up with it over the season.
Charles Leclerc is good in qualifying but makes a lot of mistakes in the races. And Lewis Hamilton still has the speed, but can he keep that up for a whole season? I have my doubts about that.
Helmut Marko noted
Ferrari might be able to contend for the championships in Formula 1 after a drought of over 17 years. Hamilton seems all ready to take up the challenge of taking the Italian constructor back to their glory days. Hence, time will tell about how the 40-year-old fares at Maranello against Leclerc in the final edition of the ground-effect era.
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Aditya Pandya
(1468 Articles Published)