Helmut Marko Disregards Carlos Sainz as He Reveals Max Verstappen’s True Suzuka Rival

We all know which Ferrari driver is shining this year. It’s Carlos Sainz. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that Charles Leclerc has always been the Ferrari’s Golden Boy for a long time. Maybe Helmut Marko was looking at things from the same lens when he recently made some comments about Red Bull’s top rivals for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Ferrari is creeping up on Red Bull, and Mercedes is just not performing. While Sainz is the more dominant in the Prancing Horse, Helmut Marko had something to say about Ferrari, which made Charles Leclerc a more formidable driver.

Helmut Marko believes Charles Leclerc is a threat to Max Verstappen

Following the Japanese GP Qualifiers, Helmut Marko came forth to talk about the team’s chances. Stating that the car is now stable and the upgrades have been made, Red Bull is ready to go through a race while avoiding the Melbourne disaster. A lot of work has been put into the car and the results were visible on Saturday. Max Verstappen will be starting on Pole and right behind him will be Sergio Perez.

Talking about their competitors, Marko, as per es.motorsport.com, said, “And we also managed very well despite the rainy FP2 to get the set-up right so that it was at least good enough for qualifying. And I’m optimistic for the race, because our closest long-run rival, “Leclerc, he only starts from eighth place.” [Translated using Google]

Still, the infamous Red Bull 1-2 combo is ferocious as long as Max Verstappen stays in the lead. Perez is great at fending off challengers and this is great positioning for them. Moreover, the RB20 has gone through some upgrades which helped it perform despite the rain during the FP2.

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The 80-year-old’s comments do disregard Carlos Sainz, as according to him, Leclerc is their “closest long-run rival.” Currently, points-wise, sure, Leclerc is extremely close to Verstappen, but what if Marko was talking about the future?

Next year, Carlos Sainz will be off the team and Charles Leclerc will be paired with Lewis Hamilton. Honestly, the lineup is quite strong enough to threaten Red Bulls’ position. But the question lies, will they have a good enough car?

What are Ferrari’s plans for the 2025 car?

Bringing in Lewis Hamilton to be paired with Charles Leclerc would be pointless if Ferrari did not invest in making their car better. John Elkann, executive chairman of Ferrari, is ready to push the team forward, even if it means signing Adrian Newey.

Newey, the mastermind behind the RB20, has always looked forward to working with Ferrari. Not only that, the championship-winning car designer has even mentioned his desire to work with Lewis Hamilton. So what better time to do it than during his final years in the sport?

Ferrari is probably the best bet that Lewis Hamilton has to win the championship again, especially if it’s paired with Newey’s design.

An offer from the Reds is lucrative, no doubt. But Newey supposedly has similar offers from Mercedes and Aston Martin. That being said, do you think Adrian Newey will ever part ways with Red Bull? If yes, where do you think he will go to design his next masterpiece?

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