Mar.7 (GMM) All the hype surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is unlikely to translate into a world championship.
That’s the view of Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko, who thinks McLaren is the clear favourite heading into Melbourne, with Red Bull on their heels.
“Ferrari is, according to our calculations, the third strongest force, just ahead of Mercedes,” the Austrian told RTL.
“And in Bahrain, (Charles) Leclerc was clearly faster than Hamilton. But that’s normal,” Marko explained. “He (Leclerc) knows the team, he knows the car.
“Hamilton drove a lot of laps and gradually improved, but he wasn’t quite at Leclerc’s level. But it’s early days.
“We know that Hamilton can improve supernaturally, but it could also be the case that if the factors don’t line up and he sees no chance of winning, his motivation will drop a little.”
Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur admitted at the Milan street event on Thursday that the new 2025 car is “two or three tenths” off McLaren’s ultimate pace.
“They are in a better position than us,” he said. “This is the last year of the current regulations and performance gains are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve.
“It’s true that we scored the most points in the last eight races of 2024, but they (McLaren) had a real performance advantage that they didn’t exploit as much as they should have due to small problems or missed opportunities.
“But if we can gain two or three tenths, we’ll have every chance.”
Ralf Schumacher, meanwhile, thinks the comparisons between his older brother’s arrival at Ferrari in 1996 to Hamilton’s first season in red are wide of the mark.
“When Michael went to Ferrari, he was not only the current world champion, but also the acknowledged best driver. Neither of these things applies to Lewis anymore,” Ralf told Sky Deutschland.
“Nevertheless, Michael still needed five hard years to win his first Ferrari title. Lewis doesn’t have that time.”
Schumacher also thinks the fickle Italian press will only give Hamilton six months to get up to speed. “If things aren’t going well by then, all this euphoria will quickly turn into criticism,” said the German.
As for Leclerc, Vasseur sees no risk that the pressure will also weigh particularly heavily on the 27-year-old’s shoulders this year.
“From day one, I was convinced that Charles would only benefit from Lewis’ arrival,” said the Frenchman. “Maybe it will take some pressure off him and he will be able to focus more on himself.”
Schumacher, meanwhile, agrees with those who think McLaren could be about to knock Red Bull and Max Verstappen off their perches in 2025.
“Pierre Wache is no Adrian Newey,” he said. “Max will have to get used to the idea that everything ends someday. I don’t think he has a chance this season, no.
“Maybe it will help him decide what to do next, but either way, it will be a difficult decision.”
