Helmut Marko feels "Ferrari is getting closer" and reflects on Adrian Newey's F1 future

Helmut Marko has hinted that the growing performance of Scuderia Ferrari could convince Adrian Newey to consider joining the Maranello-based team.

The Red Bull dominance continues as if nothing has changed. At the Jeddah circuit in Saudi Arabia, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez secured the second one-two finish of the 2024 Formula 1 season in as many races. However, the progress made by Scuderia Ferrari is evident, and now Helmut Marko seems to fear that this could become an interesting incentive for Adrian Newey.

The Maranello team appeared to handle the harder tire compounds even better than the RB20. This allowed Charles Leclerc to set the fastest lap of the race on the last lap, despite the fact that Max Verstappen attempted to do the same.

The only thing that seemed to be lacking for Ferrari was consistency in pace, as highlighted by Charles Leclerc himself in the post-race team radio. However, Helmut Marko was also impressed by the performance of the red team and is convinced that Red Bull will not have an easy time in the upcoming races.

“We degraded more than we expected with the hard tire. Ferrari is getting closer,” declared the Austrian advisor. “It wasn’t easy to overtake on this track.” – he pointed out.

“I am pleased with the performance and the results on two very different circuits. However, I don’t think it will be the same in Australia, Japan, and China. We have a sufficiently competitive car to allow Verstappen to achieve the fourth title. That is our goal.”

Helmut Marko also spoke about the possible move of Adrian Newey to Ferrari. The situation at Red Bull is becoming increasingly contentious, and this could lead the English engineer to explore other opportunities.

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However, the Red Bull advisor hopes this change doesn’t happen. Helmut Marko wants to rely on the excellent Red Bull performances and continuous successes to persuade Adrian Newey to stay in Milton Keynes. Speaking in a recent interview for motorsport-tota, the Red Bull advisor expressed his viewpoint on the situation.

“Newey at Ferrari? I hope not. Continuously striving to improve and continue our path of success should provide a sufficiently reassuring environment for him.” – he concluded.