Discontented by Not Being the Highest Paid Driver, Lewis Hamilton Chose $435 Million Ferrari Deal; Claims Helmut Marko

Helmut Marko often lands himself in hot waters with his remarks and this time it was no different. The Red Bull advisor recently put out a bizarre theory on Lewis Hamilton’s upcoming transfer to Ferrari. He mentioned that Hamilton’s decision to move away from Mercedes to Ferrari was because he was no longer the highest-paid F1 driver there.

With this, Marko also revealed that Hamilton, not being a defending world champion, is also unhappy. He stated that Hamilton knew it would not be easy for him to achieve that again with Mercedes. Therefore, the Briton decided to move to the Prancing Horse to try a shot at the world championship again.

Furthermore, the Austrian veteran did not forget to mention that the Mercedes driver does not stand a chance to race at Red Bull in the presence of Verstappen. Hence, he had to look for an alternative where the 39-year-old had good race-winning chances, as well as better pay.

Marko told F1 insider.com as per FormulaPassion, “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.”

Marko’s statement comes in contradiction to Sebastian Vettel, who was also a driver with Red Bull. The German former driver moved away from Milton-Keynes in 2015 to sign for Ferrari. Therefore, there is indeed a legendary stature that comes with Ferrari’s name in Formula 1 and a few drivers can only say no to it.

No wonder why most of the renowned F1 drivers have their names associated with the Italian team. From Niki Lauda, and Michael Schumacher to Vettel and now Hamilton has also added himself to the list. Nevertheless, Marko is habitual when it comes to passing controversial remarks.

As seen in the case of his own driver Sergio Perez a few days back when he was underperforming. Apart from this, the Red Bull veteran always had his share of statements for Hamilton, statistically the best F1 driver. This time it was no different.

Lewis Hamilton’s transfer saga to Red Bull and Helmut Marko’s take

As Lewis Hamilton saw himself linked with Ferrari last year in the first half of the season, the last part was no different. There, Hamilton was linked with Red Bull and none other than Christian Horner spoke about this to the media.

The seven-time world champion, however, categorically denied these claims. He revealed that he did not make any attempts to move to Horner’s team. Later on, the Red Bull boss further unraveled that it was Anthony Hamilton, father of the Mercedes driver who reached out to Horner regarding a transfer.

Helmut Marko shared his thoughts on this and having Hamilton and Verstappen in one team surely did not work for him. He believed that two drivers of this stature could not race in one team. And after the events of the 2021 season, especially in Silverstone, Monza, Jeddah, and Abu Dhabi, a Hamilton-Verstappen lineup may never happen.

In Silverstone, Hamilton knocked Verstappen off to send him to the barriers at Copse. The intensity of the crash was 51G and the Dutchman ended up in the hospital. As for Abu Dhabi, Verstappen already had too much hate from the media as well as from fans after Michael Masi’s controversial call. All in all, Lewis Hamilton to Red Bull was a big no for the Austrian.

Hamilton would join the Italian team on a multi-year deal that may approximately earn him $435 million cumulatively. Reports suggest his salary will be $87 million a year including $21 million as bonuses. The bonuses would be the funding for his Mission 44 and the brand ambassador role following his retirement from the sport. This will undoubtedly make him the highest-paid F1 driver on the grid in 2025.