Marko quickly caught on to Mercedes: 'There was no excitement'

Lewis Hamilton threatened to leave Formula 1 for months. While the entire motorsport world debated the situation, Helmut Marko quickly knew that the Brit would simply return. This is what the Red Bull Racing advisor tells in conversation with the German RTL.

Last season Hamilton fought alongside Max Verstappen for the world title. In the last race in Abu Dhabi, the race director made a much-discussed decision after Nicholas Latifi crashed, after which the Dutchman won the race and the world championship. It ensured that Hamilton had to settle for the second final spot.

The seven-time world champion was patently unhappy with race director Michael Masi and remained silent for two months. Mercedes and Hamilton's brother repeatedly revealed that the driver would have doubts about his future in Formula 1. This month, however, the driver appeared to be back to focusing on the new season.

Marko counted on Hamilton continuing

The situation came as no surprise to Marko at all. "There was no excitement in the driver market," Marko says of the past few months. "If Hamilton had told his people about his dismissal, they would have been looking for a replacement en masse. That wasn't noticeable in any way."