Red Bull Racing Senior Advisor Helmut Marko has recently opened up on Max Verstappen and his potential next-season rival Lewis Hamilton. The team boss believes the Mercedes man will be the main contender for the F1 title next season.

Talking to the German broadcaster ntv, the 79-year-old Austrian conveyed, “I see (Lewis) Hamilton as a stronger challenger for 2023. He has a clear advantage in terms of experience, he can motivate himself incredibly well.”

It’s widely understood that Mercedes and their W-13 have a role to play in Hamilton’s underperformance. On this, the veteran advisor believes the Brackley-based team will make the much-needed comeback in the next season.

Talking about this, Marko further stated, “I’m also convinced that Mercedes will put a better car on the track next year.”

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As per statistics, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes indeed had quite an underwhelming season so far in 2022.

Lewis Hamilton and his team Mercedes found the issue that cost them dearly

The 2022 F1 season hasn’t been an ideal one for the Mercedes AMG F1 team. As for Lewis Hamilton, this season was supposed to be his hunt for the eighth world championship. However, things didn’t fall in place as the driver and the team would’ve liked.

However, the Brackley-based team found the issue that hampered their performance over the season. The Mercedes engineering team struggled with the porpoising issue at the start of this year, which the team drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell complained about. The development team spent around 8-10 months on it.

However, team boss Toto Wolff believes in the “long game“. The Austrian boss is of the opinion that his team figured out the issues and they are improving gradually. With this, they can finally bring a much better car for next season.

On this, as per Autosport, Wolff stated, “We’re playing the long game here, all of us. Both drivers are playing the long game, the team. The judge around the team, of performance, is not based on a single year or weekend. It’s how we have been able to win championships over the long term.”

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Once the Silver Arrows camp has solved the issues with their car, can they again fight for the title?