Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has shut down suggestions that Scuderia Ferrari could be a key player in the 2022 Formula 1 season by insisting that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will once again be the only drivers who will be able to fight for the title, despite the fact that the new Formula 1 rules are meant to make the field much closer and avoid a battle between just two drivers.
On the other hand, Scuderia Ferrari have been confident that Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will have a stronger opportunity of challenging Lewis Hamilton and Lewis Verstappen than in recent seasons: “The new regulations are a clear opportunity,” Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto explained – “The hope is to be competitive and for me to be competitive is to be in the position of winning races. Would that mean that we can fight for a championship? If I look at today, the gap is still big. But as Ferrari, it’s part of our DNA. What is important is to be capable of fighting at least in some races for pole and for the win.” – he added.
However, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko feels that the same two teams will remain in the running at the front of the grid even in 2022:
“Mercedes and we have the potential, the people and the continuity,” Helmut Marko said, in a recent interview for German automobile magazine Auto Motor und Sport – “That speaks again for a fight at the highest level. Especially since there are no other drivers like [Lewis] Hamilton and [Max] Verstappen.” – he added.
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Helmut Marko then reviewed the emerging talents on the starting grid: “Most likely Lando Norris can keep up with the best. Charles Leclerc was ‘demystified’, so to speak, by Carlos Sainz. Russell will certainly be a more convincing internal challenge for Hamilton, even on a political level, because he is English and is incredibly fast in qualifying. In the race there was not a big gap compared to Latifi, so he will have to improve himself.”
Finally, the Red Bull consultant is not worried about Max Verstappen’s adaptation to the new generation of cars: “Max doesn’t need a lot of time, he’s always fast right away”.
Meanwhile, Mattia Binotto believes there could be a big difference between the teams at the start of the 2022 campaign.
“In 2022, maybe at the start of the season, there will be a difference in competitiveness between the cars because of the way each team may have interpreted the rules and solutions you may bring. What is important as Ferrari is being capable of understanding weaknesses and addressing them very quickly. It’s team reaction which will be key.” – the Ferrari boss explained.
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