F1 News
Marko fears potential 'Super-Hamilton': 'Can improve supernaturally'
Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing's chief advisor, kept a close eye on Lewis Hamilton during the Bahrain winter testing and while he concluded Charles Leclerc was the quickest of the Ferrari drivers, he doesn't rule out the seven-time world champion in 2025, even if Ferrari are currently behind on perfomance with Mercedes snapping at their heels.
In conversation with RTL, Marko assessed how the test went for Hamilton. "In Bahrain, Leclerc was the much faster [Ferrari driver] [at the test]," however, understading that this was normal. "He knows the team, he knows the car," while for the new Ferrari man, everything is new.
"Hamilton drove a lot of laps, gradually improved, but was not quite at the level of Leclerc," albeit aware that "if the whole environment fits, [Hamilton] can improve incredibly."
"He went to Ferrari of his own volition," Marko added, highlighting Hamilton's need for a new adventure. "I think he will do everything he can to ensure that his expectations are met."
Hamilton's 'supernatural' improvement may not be enough
However, there may be a few snags on the road for the seven-time world champion. One of them being in the other side of the garage. "[Charles Leclerc is] one of the best qualifiers" in F1 and with Hamilton's qualifying inconsistencies and mistakes of late it could derail his season. "Because the field is relatively close together, three, four tenths of a second difference in qualifying can make up three to five grid positions."
"And you know how difficult overtaking is these days," added the Red Bull chief Advisor. Indeed as the ground regulations have become increasingly complex and as the field has been closing in, overtaking has certainly not been made easy so it will therefore be "crucial for Hamilton to be able to [contest] the first qualifying sessions on an equal footing with Leclerc. But that's certainly not easy."
However, Marko does not rule out the seven-time world champion just yet. According to the Austrian Hamilton can improve "supernaturally", should everything go his way, but adds a caveat. "If the factors don't fit together, he sees no chance of winning, that he then loses some of his motivation," which could indeed be the case.
Why? Marko explains that at the moment, the pecking order in F1, in his view, has McLaren one step ahead of the field, and Red Bull racing behind the Woking based team. What about Ferrari? "[The Scuderia are] the third strongest force, very close to Mercedes," Marko concluded.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels too!