Helmut Marko delivers harsh verdict: Lewis Hamilton a “handicap” for Ferrari like Yuki Tsunoda for Red Bull. Helmut Marko called Lewis Hamilton a “handicap” for Ferrari.

Helmut Marko has delivered a sharp and controversial criticism of Lewis Hamilton, describing the seven-time world champion as a “handicap” for Ferrari, in the same way he views Yuki Tsunoda as a handicap for Red Bull and Kimi Antonelli as a handicap for Mercedes. According to Marko, the second drivers of these three top Formula 1 teams are struggling to score important points at the same pace as their respective team leaders, which is causing setbacks for their teams’ championship ambitions.

This season, both Red Bull and Ferrari started with new driver line-ups: Liam Lawson joined Red Bull, while Lewis Hamilton returned to Ferrari. However, after just two races, Liam Lawson was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, who has so far been unable to significantly improve Red Bull’s performance or contribute enough points to support the team’s fight in the constructors’ championship. Meanwhile, Mercedes refreshed their driver roster by promoting the promising rookie Kimi Antonelli to fill the seat vacated by Lewis Hamilton.

The season has proven challenging for all three drivers and their teams. Specifically, Yuki Tsunoda has only scored a modest total of 7 points driving the Red Bull, compared to the 126 points amassed by his teammate Max Verstappen over the 12 races they have competed in together. Lewis Hamilton has also faced notable difficulties, despite the notable highlight of a Sprint race in China. While Hamilton has only missed the points-scoring zone once so far, he has yet to reach the podium this season, unlike his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who has enjoyed multiple podium finishes. Kimi Antonelli, on the other hand, has scored points in just half of the races he has entered but did achieve the first podium finish of his young Formula 1 career at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Helmut Marko believes that having a second driver who is a “handicap” affects all three teams, but he singles out Red Bull as suffering the most from this issue. Marko even suggested that Red Bull might not be able to secure second place in the Constructors’ Championship by the end of the season, despite there being ten races remaining.

“The second place in the Constructors’ Championship is unrealistic because Yuki scores points too rarely,” Helmut Marko told Krone. “We are actually fighting with Mercedes for third place. Ferrari’s second driver is also a handicap, with Lewis Hamilton, just as Kimi Antonelli is for Mercedes.”

Currently, Ferrari sits second in the Constructors’ Championship standings with 260 points, trailing only an unbeatable McLaren. Ferrari holds a 24-point lead over Mercedes, who are in third place, while Red Bull is a further 42 points behind Mercedes. Red Bull’s points haul largely depends on the consistent performance of reigning world champion Max Verstappen, as the team struggles to gain significant support from their second driver.