“Not one problem, but several,” Helmut Marko has already ruled Mercedes out of 2023 F1 title contention

Helmut Marko, the Red Bull Team adviser, has ruled out the Mercedes team from having any say in the 2023 F1 World Championship fight. On the back of what he saw from them in Bahrain, he ardently believes that it would be a daunting challenge for the Brackley-based team to compete against the lights of Red Bull and Ferrari.

Moreover, Helmut Marko has shown tremendous surprise at the state of things at the mighty Mercedes F1 Team this year. He was expecting Lewis Hamilton and Co. to make a strong impression during the first race of the current campaign in Bahrain. However, just like everybody else, he was surprised to see the lack of pace of the W14.

The 79-year-old was recently pressed on the topic by sport.de, and while talking to them about Mercedes, he said, “To be honest, I’m not disappointed, I’m more surprised.” He further believes that cost cap is an issue for the German team, “because you are simply limited in your options. You cannot design two or three vehicles.“

“If a completely new vehicle comes now, then it will be difficult because of the financial limits. And this new vehicle will not be competitive straight away either, you have to develop that further. He sees “not one problem, but several.” In this respect, I think it is realistic to say that the world title is out of reach for Mercedes.“Helmut Marko is convinced that even if the Mercedes F1 Team comes up with a totally new car concept for the upcoming races, it would still be very tough for them to fight at the front.

The Red Bull team adviser has indicated a pretty bleak picture for Toto Wolff and Co. this year. He believes that Mercedes is not a threat in the Championship race this year. What’s terrifying if you are Mercedes is that he is probably right in his assessment of the former top dogs of the sport.

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Helmut Marko’s take on the development of the RB19

Helmut Marko’s Red Bull won the 2022 F1 Championship and thus has the least time when it comes to testing in the wind tunnel this year. He has made it known that in order to do things perfectly with the development of the RB19, the team had to tread carefully every step of the way.

The Veteran had admitted that the Milton-Keynes-based team used the wind tunnel only when they thought, there was the “highest possible probability” of improvements because in his opinion, “We cannot afford to miss this.” While everything went smoothly during the first event of the season in Bahrain, Marko will only get difficult for Red Bull.

He further added, “That’s why it’s important that we get as many points ahead as possible in this first phase.” Looking at the soon-to-be 80-year-old comments, it seems Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will be at full tilt during the first half of the current campaign. Considering everything, how much damage would the Red Bull team be able to do in the Championship fight by the time it reaches halfway?

Would Max Verstappen again be able to develop a healthy lead in the Driver’s Championship fight? Or would he find it tough to be as dominant as he was during last year? While there are a few question marks, a fairer picture of the 2023 Championship fight would come to light after the season is 4-5 races down.

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