Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has backed Lewis Hamilton to overcome Charles Leclerc at Ferrari when the pair become Formula 1 team-mates from the beginning of next season.
Ferrari announced earlier this month that Hamilton would join the team in 2025 on a “multi-year” deal after the Briton activated an exit clause in his existing Mercedes contract.
Speaking to German outlet sport.de, Marko described Hamilton’s impending arrival with F1’s most illustrious squad as “the best thing that could happen to F1 at the moment”.
The Austrian contends that the “fascination” of driving in red enticed Hamilton, but he also believes that the Briton “lost faith in Mercedes” to deliver him a competitive car.
Mercedes had dominated F1 upon the switch to V6 turbo-hybrid engines in 2014 but has continued to stumble ever since the return to ground effect machinery two years ago now.
Hamilton will replace the incumbent Carlos Sainz, with Ferrari having already confirmed Leclerc had signed a long-term extension to extend his relationship with the Scuderia.
The Italian marque’s 2025 line-up has been touted to be a blockbuster one as the seven-time champion in Hamilton goes up against Leclerc, the established Ferrari protégé.
Marko predicts that Leclerc’s renowned qualifying pace will see him hold the “advantage over one lap” but insists that Hamilton will prevail when it comes to races.
Red Bull’s long-serving talent spotter is also convinced that the current Mercedes driver will “politically assert himself as Ferrari’s global superstar” over the Monegasque.
Prior to the bombshell news, Marko told F1-Insider.com that he thought Hamilton was aggravated that Max Verstappen had overtaken him as the highest earner in F1.
“There are two things that Hamilton cannot swallow the first is that he is no longer World Champion and that it will not be easy to become one again,” he commented.
“He knows he can’t settle in Red Bull and that Ferrari might be better for him than Mercedes is not written in stone.
“Sporting aspect aside, Hamilton is not at all happy that he is no longer the highest-paid driver on the starting grid, given that now the highest-paid is Verstappen. This fact can change with the help of Ferrari.”
However, Sportune reports that Hamilton will earn in the region of €80 million a year at Ferrari, which would dwarf the base €45m fee that Verstappen receives from Red Bull.
Verstappen is currently tied down to the reigning World Champions through 2028, with the Dutchman one of six drivers whose future is secured beyond the end of this year.
