If you’re a recent fan of the sport, you’ve jumped in right at the beginning of the Max Verstappen era. And while currently, the Dutch lion is undisputedly the greatest racing talent on the grid, he did pick this baton up from arguably the GOAT of Formula 1; Lewis Hamilton. And when we say picked up the baton, we mean Mercedes dropped the ball at the start of the 2022 regulation reset and haven’t quite picked it up again!

That can only mean that Hamilton is just waiting eagerly and patiently in the wings to once again mount a charge for his lost throne. But in the two years that he’s been off the top, has the 7x champion lost his edge?

Helmut Marko Backs Golden Boy Verstappen Against Lewis Hamilton

In terms of pure logic, you could safely bet that Lewis Hamilton is the only driver who has the inherent powers to dethrone Verstappen. However, Red Bull taskmaster and team advisor, Helmut Marko begs to differ.

For him, there are just two candidates to battle and challenge the reigning world champion, if given that opportunity. But the Austrian deems it extremely “difficult”. After the Belgian Grand Prix, Marko, whilst in conversation with DAZN said, “I would perhaps say [Fernando] Alonso or [Lewis] Hamilton, but in the same car it would be very difficult” [translated via Google]

But let’s not forget, Verstappen does have someone competing against him in equal machinery. Then why doesn’t Marko believe his second driver, Sergio Perez is up for the task?

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Helmut Marko gives Sergio Perez a brutal wakeup call

Marko isn’t the one to mince his words. And the 80-year-old ex-racing driver has given Perez a brutal reality check while reminding him of his first priority at Red Bull. For Marko, Perez’s recent drop in form was actually caused by Perez overestimating his talent against his ambitions.

Motorsport.com quoted Marko as saying, “He [Sergio Perez] has now woken up from his world championship dream. Maybe that will help him to focus again on delivering the best possible performance.”

Is Lewis Hamilton really not fit to be crowned as World Champion as long as Verstappen remains in the sport?

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