After the sensational news of Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari emerged, many have speculated about who would be the Briton’s successor at the Silver Arrows. Red Bull taskmaster Helmut Marko is confident that Max Verstappen is on Mercedes’ list, and that Toto Wolff will try and poach the Dutchman from Red Bull. However, Wolff’s potential poaching attempts do not concern the Austrian. Marko made a reference to the 2021 campaign to explain why Verstappen would never consider moving to Mercedes.
“Max has a good memory and has not forgotten Mercedes’ accusations. The 2021 Silverstone crash and the Abu Dhabi season finale are examples of this,” said Marko as quoted by Sport.de.
Marko on Mercedes potentially trying to sign Max
“Toto is going to try, but he will not be successful.”
“Max has a good memory and has not forgotten Mercedes’ accusations. The 2021 Silverstone crash and the Abu Dhabi season finale are examples of this.”… pic.twitter.com/gGkJdO1xam
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) February 4, 2024
After Verstappen’s insane 51-G crash with Hamilton at Copse corner during the first lap of the 2021 British GP, Wolff refused to absolve the Red Bull driver from part of the blame. Wolff said (as quoted by Formula1.com), “As for the incident, it always takes two to tango.”
Throughout 2021, Mercedes and Red Bull were locked in an intense battle for the championship. Many words were exchanged in the media during the season. However, after Hamilton lost out to Verstappen in controversial circumstances at the Abu Dhabi GP, the two teams and their personnel became sworn enemies.
Helmut Marko exposes Lewis Hamilton’s jealousy of Max Verstappen for choosing Ferrari over Mercedes
On the one hand, Helmut Marko is adamant that despite Toto Wolff’s efforts, Max Verstappen will never sign for Mercedes. On the other hand, Marko himself is guilty of taking a swipe or two against the seven-time world champion on several occasions.
When the news broke out that Hamilton would join Ferrari in 2025, Marko was quick to give his two cents on the Briton’s motivations. Max Verstappen is currently the highest-paid driver in F1 with a whopping $70 million salary, according to Forbes. And Marko believes Hamilton just couldn’t stand that fact.
Lewis Hamilton will earn over $100 million per year at Ferrari, making him the highest-paid F1 driver ever.
Ferrari Chairman John Elkann will also put significant money toward Lewis Hamilton’s charitable initiatives.
They basically wrote him a blank check.
(h/t @GiulyDuchessa) pic.twitter.com/PJZyici2Rd
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) February 2, 2024
Formulapassion.it quoted Marko as saying, “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.” Hamilton has reportedly signed a $100 million-a-year deal with Ferrari.
As for Wolff, he is not in a hurry to play his cards yet. The Mercedes boss has revealed that he will weigh up all his options before choosing a replacement for Hamilton.
