Red Bull has put in what can only be called a dominant season, winning every race so far in 2023. However, the reality of the situation is apparent once the statistics are looked deeper into. Out of 12 races won, Max has 10 to his name while Perez only has 2. Moreover, Perez is 125 points behind Max in the championship!
Therefore, to cover all bases, Red Bull is looking into a replacement option for Sergio Perez. Among various names, Lewis Hamilton was brought up as a possibility. Currently out of a contract for 2024, Hamilton has reportedly already received an offer from Ferrari. But does Marko share Ferrari’s fondness for Lewis?
Helmut Marko discusses Lewis Hamilton’s Red Bull switch possibility
Citing Alain Prost and Aryton Senna’s bitter rivalry as an example, Helmut Marko emphasizes the need to maintain a ‘hierarchy’ in a drive line-up. Publicly, Mercedes have maintained the attitude that they do not discriminate between or prefer a driver over another in terms of strategy, upgrades, etc. However, Marko does not share this ideology.
This implies that Marko has ruled out Lewis Hamilton as a possible replacement for Sergio Perez. Leaving the door open for Lando Norris, Marko stated, “We as team management want success and we want to win the championship – if possible both the Drivers’ and Constructors’.”
He continued, “Then it is better if you have a hierarchy, where it is clear who is the clearly faster number one and who is the number two driver. Norris, I can still imagine but with Hamilton as a teammate, I have a hard head. The whole team atmosphere and our performance should not suffer. In the past, we saw, for example, Senna and Prost, two superstars, who only looked at each other and put the team in second place.”
Hamilton’s contract impasse rolls on
With Red Bull no longer an option, Hamilton is still out of a contract for 2024. Multiple speculations have been surfacing regarding the reason behind the delay in his contract extension with Mercedes, the primary of which has been regarding an ambassadorship clause demanded by the 7-time world champion. However, Wolff and Mercedes are not willing to include such a clause, reports say.
In the meantime, other reports tying Hamilton to Ferrari have also been going around social media. More recently, however, a contract extension at Mercedes has been rumored to be announced at the Dutch Grand Prix, with an implication that Lewis has declined the offer from John Elkann and Fred Vasseur at Ferrari.
Do you think Hamilton will continue at Mercedes? Or is his stint with the silver arrows finally coming to an end to pave the way for the Lewis and Ferrari era? Comment what you think down below!
