16 August 2023 , 15:54
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Red Bull would never consider signing Lewis Hamilton to provide competition to Max Verstappen, according to the team’s F1 advisor Helmut Marko.
Hamilton’s current contract with Mercedes is due to expire at the end of the 2023 season and an extension has yet to be announced. Negotiations have been dragging on, sparking speculation about the 38-year-old’s future at the constructor he has raced for since 2013.
His situation is interesting when compared with that of Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, whose form has taken a nosedive since winning two of the first four races of the season. Verstappen has won the last eight with little competition from the Mexican, who is contracted until 2024.
The idea of Hamilton joining Red Bull to replace Perez and team up with Verstappen is an alluring one, but not one that will be considered. Hamilton and Verstappen have developed an intense rivalry over the past few years and having two big egos who demand being the number one driver would not work as a dynamic, according to Marko.
“The public, the TV viewers and the journalists will certainly love that,” he told Motorsport Magazin of Hamilton joining Red Bull. "But we as team management want success and we want to win the championship – if possible both the Drivers' and Constructors.
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“Then it is better if you have a hierarchy, where it is clear who is the clearly faster number one and who is the number two driver. [Lando] Norris I can still imagine but with Hamilton as a team-mate, I have a hard head.
Lewis Hamilton's contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the season (Qian Jun/Getty Images)“The whole team atmosphere and our performance should not suffer. In the past, we saw, for example, [Ayrton] Senna and [Alain] Prost, two superstars, who only looked at each other and put the team in second place."
The idea of replacing Perez is likely not high on Red Bull’s agenda at the moment, with the team utterly dominating F1. Verstappen holds a commanding 125-point lead over Perez at the top of the drivers’ standings, while Red Bull have 503 points to Mercedes’ 247 in the constructors’ table.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has repeatedly stated his intention to honour the full length of Perez’s contract, despite his drop-off in form. Nevertheless racing legend Tom Coronel has speculated that Daniel Ricciardo could be brought back in to replace Perez at the end of the current season.
"We all know what will happen to Perez. Come on, we know that," he said. "It's very clear. Marko is looking for a very strong second driver. Ricciardo was Verstappen's best team-mate ever, so that's what they're looking for. Perez just doesn't have the consistency.”
The F1 season is currently on an extended break ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix on August 27, when Verstappen will look to continue his winning streak on his home circuit.