Marko: Sainz has debunked Leclerc's bottom line

Helmut Marko commented on the drivers of Red Bull rival teams and argued that Charles Leclerc's Bottom had been "debunked".

Marco is certainly qualified to discuss the merits of the Red Bull and Red Bull Jr. drivers, who are the driver project leaders of both teams, and at the same time, he will also evaluate some of the opponents, and he believes that Carlos Sainz's strong first season at Ferrari has increased the pressure on his teammate Leclerc. In the 2021 season, the Spaniard grew up in the competition and finally beat teammate Leclerc by 5.5 points in 22 games because he had four podiums and did not retire.

Speaking about Red Bull's 2022 goals, Marco said: "The goal is to be a world champion, but there is such a big rule change that you can never be sure, Mercedes and we both have potential, connections, continuity. Hamilton and Verstappen will duel at the highest level, no other driver will show up, the closest to them is Lando Norris, arguably Leclerc has been debunked by Sainz. ”

Marko has previously said he hopes George Russell joining Mercedes will help Verstappen as the young Briton could take some points from the seven-time world champion, undermining Hamilton's potential to win the title. The 78-year-old Austrian insists that given Russell's performance on Sunday is no better than his former team-mate Nicholas Latifi, Mr. Saturday needs to prove something.

Marco apparently believes the young Briton will be more ambitious than his predecessor, Valthéli Bottas, saying: "Russell is certainly a bigger challenge for Hamilton, he is an amazingly fast driver in qualifying, however, in the main race, Latifie is not much different from him and Russell must prove himself first. ”