Marko thinks of Lauda: 'His balanced mentality would help Mercedes'

F1 News

23 June 2022 at 12:00
Last update 23 June 2022 at 12:28
  • GPblog.com

Red Bull Racing advisor Dr Helmut Marko pauses in conversation with Austrian media to remember his compatriot Niki Lauda, who died in 2019. According to the Red Bull advisor, Lauda would have good advice for the losing Mecedes team.

Marko suspects that Lauda could have offered help

One team advisor commemorates another advisor when asked at Fellner! Live of OE24.TV whether the ailing situation at Mercedes would be different if Niki Lauda had still been there. After all, things are not going well at Mercedes in 2022 after no less than eight championships. Marko thinks Lauda could certainly have helped the team in the right direction, but has a lot of sympathy for the team's current situation.

Marko: "I think the turnaround in Formula 1, the enthusiasm that is there now, has come about because we [Red Bull Racing] have managed to break the dominance of Mercedes. They have been at the top for seven years and suddenly there is a competitor and you have to deal with that. I think Lauda's balanced mentality is missing here at Mercedes. Maybe he would have done it very differently. But when you're used to winning and then defeat comes, it's always a difficult situation."

What would Lauda have done then?

It is difficult to gauge Mercedes' progress in 2022. In Barcelona, the team was applauded for making a big leap in performance. This enthusiasm was gone after the race in Baku when the porpoising was back in full force. In Canada, on the other hand, Lewis Hamilton was once again roaring with joy with his W13. Possibly Lauda's balanced mentality, to which Marko refers, would have given the team (and the spectators) a better understanding of where they currently stand.