Lewis Hamilton a ‘handicap’ for Ferrari as Marko shares second seat concerns

Helmut Marko claims Lewis Hamilton is a “handicap” to Ferrari just as Yuki Tsunoda is to Red Bull, with the teams’ second drivers not scoring big points.

It’s costing both teams in the Constructors’ Championship as McLaren with its two-car scoring pairing runs away with it.

Is Lewis Hamilton a ‘handicap’ for Ferrari?

This season, both Red Bull and Ferrari have a new driver in the second seat in Tsunoda and Hamilton, so too do Mercedes who brought in rookie driver Kimi Antonelli.

It’s been a difficult campaign for the newcomers, more so for Tsunoda who has scored just seven points in Red Bull colours while his team-mate Max Verstappen has brought in 126 in their 12 races as team-mates.

Hamilton has also had his struggles. Although he’s only once missed out on a top-ten result, the Briton has yet to join his team-mate Charles Leclerc in this year’s champagne celebrations.

Neither has Antonelli, who has also only scored in half of this year’s grands prix.

How Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda are faring in the team-mate head-to-heads

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

According to Marko, the second driver is proving to be a “handicap” for all three teams, but more so for Red Bull, who he doesn’t believe could even finish second despite 10 races in hand.

“Second place in the Constructors’ Championship is not realistic because Yuki scores points too rarely,” Marko told Krone.

“We are fighting for third place with Mercedes.

“The second driver is also a handicap for Ferrari with Hamilton and for Mercedes with Antonelli.”

Ferrari currently holds down second place with 260 points, 24 ahead of Mercedes with Red Bull a further 42 off the pace. Verstappen has scored all but seven points of Red Bull’s tally.

It’s put Tsunoda’s position as a Red Bull under threat, but while Marko is adamant he will continue in the second RB21 for the remainder of this season, next year has yet to be decided.

The Red Bull motorsport advisor revealed the team will sit down with outgoing engine partner and Tsunoda’s backer Honda to discuss the future in the coming week.

“We don’t usually talk about the drivers until the summer break,” said the 82-year-old. “Yuki has always been a Honda protégé and in the next week we will talk to them and see which direction to take.”

But whether Honda gets involved remains to be seen. The Japanese manufacturer did facilitate Tsunoda’s post-season Red Bull test in 2024, but earlier this year Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe stated that Tsunoda is now on his own when it comes to his F1 future.

“He [Tsunoda] needs to take action himself,” Watanabe said in an interview with Japanese Motorsport.com. “I want him to make the best choices for himself.

“He’s now in his fifth year, has the ability, and understands the world of F1 well.

“There’s not much more we can do for him. He needs to solidify his support team, including his manager, and secure the necessary seat. He is a professional, after all.

“Drivers can’t rely on Honda forever. Someone of Tsunoda’s career level needs to think for himself.”

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