Lewis Hamilton will win races in 2023, admits Red Bull’s Helmut Marko - but Sergio Perez?
Hamilton finished sixth in the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:F1 standings in 2022, a career-worst, and failed to win a single grand prix for the first time ever, but ended the season strongly and has vowed to fight 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen next year.
Asked if Hamilton’෴s woes would continue, Marko told Bild: ﷽“Unfortunately, I am afraid not.
“Mercedes fought their way u🎃p to us over the year. Although they are not yet at eye level, th🔯ey have more wind tunnel time for the development of the car.
“But I'm not too worr𒉰ied. We are on the right track for 2023 and have the best driver in the field with Max.”
Red Bull’s development next season may be hampered by the wind tunnel penalty accrued due to the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:F1 cost cap break.
They must also deal with the drama between Verstappen and his teammate 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Sergio Perez which blew up unexpectedly in Brazil.
Perez ultimately finished third, behind 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Charles Leclerc, partly as a resul🧸t of Verstappen not allowing him to pass.
Perez’s chances next season were rated by Marko: “Checo can certain💧ly win one or two races. But I don't see that he can challenge Max over a whole season.
“In general, I don't see that anyone wit🐻h the same prerequisites can do that at the moment.”
Verstappe✱n will be aiming for a hat-trick of consecutive championships in 2023.
Hamilton, his old🐭 rival, will re-emerge as the main contender, acco🙈rding to Marko.
“Ferrar🌸i is strong, but Mercedes will be stronger in the overall package,” he said.
“Especially with a driver like Lewis Hamilton. He ඣ🔜is still a top driver.
“Although Ferrari also has a very good driver in Leclerc, 🐲he still makes mistakes.
“We want t꧑o be similarly dominant in 2023. Even if this is very difficult, there is always room for improvement.
“We have room ওfor improvement in reliability. In the first three races we retired three times due to a technical defect. And in Brazil, the set-up was not right.
“We had an exceptional season, but not everything was perfect. And w🐽e still need a perfect day to beat Mercedes and Ferrari.”
James was a sports journalꦚist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
