Helmut Marko Thinks Very Little of Ferrari or Valtteri Bottas As Competitors in F1

Recently, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing advisor Dr. Helmut Marko spoke about the upcoming 2020 Formula One season. While he was confident that the Red Bull team was going to be quick, he named that likes of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton as their biggest threat. At the same time, he undermined the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and the Scuderia Ferrari duo.

Marko’s bold prediction stated that the Austrian team would win “at least five races and the title” in the 2020 season. The 76-year-old was highly confident that the outfit will capitalize on their late 2019 form and keep the momentum going.

He was supported by Honda who showed that its power unit was much more powerful in the latter stages of the season. Further adding to the mix was a well-developed RB15 chassis, which worked well with the Honda engine.

The final piece of the puzzle was Max Verstappen who has just signed a new long-term deal with Red Bull until 2023. Last year, he took three race wins and it helped him to third place in the championship, leapfrogging both Ferraris.

With all their focus on 2020, Marko believes that Red Bull can mount a title challenge, and Lewis Hamilton will be the biggest obstacle in the final year of the turbo-hybrid era.

“Our opponent will be Mercedes, especially Lewis Hamilton,” he told Auto Bild.

However, he had a low opinion on Ferrari and expects the Italian outfit to bottle it, as they did in the latter half of 2019. He noted that Red Bull had overtaken them in the championship in the last third of the 2019 season and he does not believe that the Ferrari engine is quick enough.

While Marko has confessed that the Honda engine is still not at Mercedes’ level, he is confident that the Bulls can bridge the gap.

Interestingly, he failed to mention Valtteri Bottas at all, as he possibly thinks that the Finn does not have the X factor to challenge for the championship