Marko sees Mercedes advantage over Ferrari: 'Should fear them more'

Helmut Marko thinks Red Bull Racing should fear the Mercedes team more than Ferrari next season in the title race. The Austrian consultant cited Mercedes' advantage in strategy and reliability.

Red Bull and Max Verstappen had a dominant season in 2022. Ferrari were able to compete with the team at the beginning of the year, but it soon became clear that the Italians made too many mistakes and lacked reliability. As a result, Verstappen managed to take home his second world title as early as Japan.

Ferrari hope to come back stronger next season, but Red Bull will also have to take Mercedes into account. After a mediocre season with just one win, the German team is working hard on the W14 to be able to compete in 2023. Mercedes have always been good at developing the car further, something that was also evident last season. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell managed to get some strong results in the closing stages of the year.

Red Bull must fear Mercedes

Speaking to Autosport.com, Marko revealed that Red Bull should pay particular attention to Mercedes. "I would say that we should fear Mercedes more. Mainly because they have an advantage over Ferrari in terms of strategy and reliability."

Ferrari, like Mercedes, is serious about addressing the problems within the team. Frederic Vasseur will replace Mattia Binotto as team boss next season. In any case, Marko expects the field to be a lot closer together, as the other teams have been able to observe the RB18's strengths following the regulation changes.