Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko believes Lewis Hamilton should have stopped racing after the 2021 season. Max Verstappen, however, felt indifferent and was not surprised when lapping the Briton during the race.
Upon being asked by Sky Sports F1 of his opinion on the seven-time world champion’s performance in Imola, Marko said:
“I mean he was lapped by us. Maybe he should’ve stopped last year [is what] he’s thinking, maybe.”
Marko suggested that maybe Lewis Hamilton could be regretting not retiring from the sport after the 2021 championship. The Briton was running 14th in the race when he was lapped towards the end by his Dutch rival from last season.
Asked for a reaction on lapping the Briton, Verstappen said:
“I mean, they’ve been slow all year so it’s not really a surprise or I feel happy lapping Lewis [Hamilton] compared to anyone else. But it is what it is. This shows how wrong they’ve got it.”
Lewis Hamilton has ruled himself out of the 2022 F1 championship
After the Imola GP, the Briton sounded demotivated going by his words in the TV pen. The Mercedes champion claimed that he is out of contention for the 2022 championship. He, however, believes in working hard and bouncing back from his performance woes. Speaking after the race, the Briton also called the W13 the worst car he's driven since 2009.
When asked about his performance after the race, Lewis Hamilton replied, saying:
“A weekend to forget, that’s for sure. I’m out of it (2022 world championship), for sure. There’s no question about that, but I’ll still keep working as hard as I can to try and somehow pull it back together somehow.”
Finishing 13th in the Imola race, the Briton was unable to secure any points while his team-mate George Russell finished fourth in the race. Although there was a difference in performance between the two Mercedes drivers, the downside of the British champion was his poor qualifying, which was hampered by red flags.
Also Check Out :-F1 Results 2022