Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has issued another warning to Alpha Tauri driver Nyck de Vries as he believes the Dutchman has not met expectations so far this season.
In an interview with Racing News 365, Marko said:
“To date, [de Vries] has not lived up to the expectations placed in him. Of course, we talked about it openly with him and now there are routes that he knows. So let’s see how he develops and then we will discuss further and possibly decide.”
De Vries was brought from outside the Red Bull talent pool to replace Pierre Gasly. However, he was outperformed by teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the first four races of the season.
While it’s still early in the campaign, De Vries’ performance graph has not impressed Marko. However, the Austrian feels it is important to analyze how upcoming races pan out before they decide on the AlphaTauri driver’s future.
Red Bull advisor cites reasons for Lewis Hamilton being dissatisfied
In a recent interview with F1 Insider, Helmut Marko outlined the two key reasons Lewis Hamilton is currently dissatisfied with his career. He said:
“There are two things that really bother Hamilton. Firstly, that he is no longer world champion, and it will be difficult for him to be world champion again in the future. He knows there is no place for him at Red Bull.
“And whether Ferrari will be better for him in sporting terms than Mercedes is not set in stone. In addition to the sporting perspective, Lewis is not happy because he is no longer the highest-earning driver in Formula 1. This is Max Verstappen now. At least that could change with Ferrari’s help.”
The Red Bull senior advisor suggested that Ferrari’s desire to recruit Hamilton might be a solution to the driver’s salary woes. The Briton’s salary is estimated to be approximately $55 million. Max Verstappen was the highest-paid driver in 2022, with a base salary of $40 million (along with $20 million in bonuses).
With his contract up for renewal, it is currently unclear whether Hamilton will continue with Mercedes or move to another team. He was linked to Ferrari, according to reports prior to the Monaco GP weekend, but he has since dismissed the rumors.