Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has conceded that Lewis Hamilton is still better than Max Verstappen.
The Austrian’s loyalty to his star driver is well known with the 22-year-old recently claiming their “bond is more personal now” than at any time he has worked with him.
But, despite the strong improvement max has made over the past two years, head-to-head, Marko still thinks Lewis has a small advantage.
“As a package, Hamilton is still the better one,” he told Motorsport-Total. “He has unbelievable basic speed and of course, he has experience. We’ve have seen this again and again.”
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Last year the Briton got the upper hand on the Dutchman twice in a straight duel (Monaco and Hungary) although Max did strike back with a win over the six-time champion in Brazil.
But it was that victory in Monte Carlo that saw Hamilton hold off Verstappen for much of the race which Marko highlighted.
“Driving in those lanes where no one can overtake, preserving his tyres was smart,” he explained.
“He has the experience over Max and that is a huge advantage. Of course, he is lucky that he is mostly at the top where life is easier but we want to change that next year!”
And though Ferrari with their own young star in Charles Leclerc might disagree, ex-F1 driver Alex Wurz has predicted Verstappen will push Hamilton hardest in 2020.
“I think so, but it will be difficult because Max Verstappen will make life difficult for him,” he told Speed Week on if he expected the Mercedes driver to win a seventh title this year.
“He [Verstappen] can become world champion. With the shape and current group dynamics at Red Bull Racing-Honda, this is a great sign for sport.”