This year, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc provided an early strong challenge, but Red Bull's Verstappen eventually won the championship with races to spare.
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Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes Lewis Hamilton will be Max Verstappen’s strongest championship rival in 2023. This year, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc provided an early strong challenge, but Red Bull’s Verstappen eventually won the championship with races to spare. “Leclerc was very strong in qualifying,” Red Bull official Marko, 79, told the German broadcaster ntv. “But he was prone to making mistakes.”
“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 and I’m also convinced that Mercedes will put a better car on the track next year.”
Marko, however, added that the two-time world champion Verstappen was only getting better with time. “He drives more confidently than ever with more overview of the race overall. At the same time he has developed into a tyre whisperer,” he said.
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“He drives on a soft tyre for longer than his competitors on a harder compound. I haven’t seen his limit yet. He gets in the car and is so confident from the first practice session – from the first lap. When it’s wet, he’s two seconds faster than the rest of the field on the first laps. All he needs is very good grip at the front – what the rear is doing doesn’t affect him that much. That only makes the other drivers nervous. You saw in the early stages this season that Max was as fast as (Sergio) Perez in a car that didn’t suit his driving style. Once the car fit, he was half a second faster.”
Marko expects Ferrari to rebound this weekend in Brazil after having to reduce performance in Mexico due to turbo problems. In terms of Mercedes, Hamilton’s team has definitely improved recently, particularly in qualifying.
