Speculations of Ferrari contacting Lewis Hamilton multiple times for a contract came out before Lewis Hamilton finalized his deal with Mercedes. With 7 titles,107 wins, and over one and a half decades of experience, who wouldn’t want to have Hamilton on their team? Well apparently the Red Bull taskmaster recently revealed the only man who can beat Max Verstappen and it’s not Lewis Hamilton. Who is it then? 

Helmut Marko rarely praises anyone, unless it’s his own drivers that he’s talking about. The taskmaster recently advised how he can imagine having Lando Norris as Max Verstappen’s partner but not Lewis Hamilton. He further added that it is better to be clear about the faster No.1 driver and who will be the No.2 driver. Marko comments toward Hamilton being the No.2 and Verstappen being the clear No.1. 

Now Helmut Marko has come out to reveal the only man that he thinks can beat Max Verstappen. Any guesses who it might be? Obviously not Lewis Hamilton. Marko would never call Lewis Hamilton faster than Verstappen. It’s Charles Leclerc. Marko advised that if Red Bull didn’t have Max Verstappen, then it would’ve been Charles Leclerc driving for Red Bull. 

According to @mehmetmsf1, when Helmut Marko was asked who is the best non-Red Bull driver, the taskmaster said “Leclerc.. If we couldn’t get a hold of Max, we would’ve signed Leclerc. He’s the only man who can beat Max at the moment.”

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Nonetheless, as the eternal feeling of Red Bull and Mercedes rivalry continued, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff continued to find minimal reason to criticize the other. Helmut Marko recently joined the party with a savage reply to Wolff’s claim.

“Miles ahead”: Helmut Marko silences Toto Wolff’s claims

Toto Wolff earlier this season claimed that Red Bull is lagging behind in terms of the 2026 powertrain development and is down on power compared to Mercedes. Helmut Marko refused Wolff’s claims as he suggested that Red Bull and Ford are way ahead of their competitors. 

Helmut Marko told Motorsport-total.com and said “In August, a complete combustion engine with MGU-K and battery is still running. There we are miles ahead of Audi, we are miles ahead of Ferrari, and Mercedes is about the same. We have Ford as a partner in the sector. We have absolute top people in the combustion engine. And we have two very bright minds on the electrical side.”

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What do you think? Is Charles Leclerc really the only man who can beat Max Verstappen?