Helmut Marko explains whether the struggling Lewis Hamilton is an upgrade for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari

On By Pranco

Lewis Hamilton achieved his best result since the summer break last weekend during the Las Vegas Grand Prix. But he still left Sin City disappointed.

Hamilton finished second behind him Mercedes teammate George Russell. Between his victory in Belgium in July and the Sao Paulo GP at the beginning of November, he had not gone further than fourth place.

But the seven-time world champion had to screw up two mistakes that cost him a potential victory. These both came in Q3, denying him a representative lap and condemning him to 10th on the grid.

Race winner George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes, second placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes and third placed Carlos Sainz…
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Although Hamilton’s fight back to second was impressive, he showed formidable pace in the final stint with a brutal run of fastest laps. It was clear what could have happened.

Mercedes were F1’s fourth fastest team this year, but the unique Vegas test played into their hands, especially the extremely low track temperatures. If normality is restored in Qatar this weekend, this could have been his last chance to finish with a win.

In the meantime, Carlos Sainz scored another strong result for Ferrari at P3. As he moves closer to Williams, he has achieved three podium finishes in the past four races.

Helmut Marko believes Ferrari will be ‘stronger’ in 2025 despite Lewis Hamilton’s loss of form

During an interview with OE24Red Bull director Helmut Marko was asked whether Hamilton’s move to Ferrari would help or hinder the reigning world champion. It looked like a seismic transfer at the time, but the 39-year-old has endured perhaps his most difficult season yet.

Marko noted that Russell had been ‘dominant’ in the intra-team battle at Mercedes. Although only nine points clear in the standings, he has beaten him in 13 of the 19 races both finished, and a whopping 17 of the 22 qualifying sessions.

Position Drivers Championship Points
1 403
2 340
3 319
4 268
5 259
6 217
7 208
8 152

Ferrari could be the team to be dethroned Red Bull this year. They closed the gap on leader McLaren to 22 points after the Las Vegas GP.

But even if they may change a winning formula, Marko believes Fred Vasseur will have a ‘stronger’ line-up. In his view, the bigger question is whether there will be ‘harmony’ in the garage.

“Russell was already more dominant than Hamilton this year,” he said. “In terms of drivers, Ferrari will be stronger next year, although I am curious whether they will have great harmony in the team.

Lewis Hamilton tells Mercedes successor Kimi Antonelli which phone apps he should delete

Hamilton seems to have a good relationship with his future teammate Charles Leclerc. Of course, it will be difficult to maintain that next year, especially if there is a championship up for grabs.

But Hamilton and Leclerc have discussed mutual interestsinstead of focusing on racing. And that will likely continue into 2025, when their on-track rivalry begins in earnest.

It is likely that Marko makes an explicit reference to the events during the Las Vegas GP. Leclerc ruined his own race by getting too angry with Sainz, Ferrari said in the debriefing.

One thing that could help Red Bull is Mercedes hiring a newcomer who is still learning. Hamilton has told Kimi Antonelli to stay off social media next year and stay as determined as possible.

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