Marko appears to rule Ferrari out of 2020 title race

Mark Scott
Honda ahead of Ferrari, says Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell

Honda ahead of Ferrari, says Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell

Dr Helmut Marko believes Red Bull’s main opponent in 2020 will be Mercedes as he feels Ferrari has lost their advantage in the engine department.

The build-up to the 2020 season brings new hope of a three-way battle for the World Championships between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

However, Marko is seemingly disregarding Ferrari from the equation at this very early stage based on performances toward the end of the 2019 campaign.

“Our opponent will be Mercedes, especially Lewis Hamilton,” Marko told Auto Bild.

“I have to admit that he drives almost perfectly and is currently the best Formula 1 driver with regards to the overall package. But then Max Verstappen comes next.

“We were ahead of them [Ferrari]  in the last third of the season. They don’t seem to have the advantage, especially with their engine, as they did before.”

Marko also added that he thinks Honda are very close to matching Mercedes in terms of engine power and just that little extra boost for qualifying is needed.

“They are almost on par with Mercedes, only a little is missing in qualifying,” Marko added.

“But I am convinced that Honda can also take this small step and then it is up to us to build a car from the start that will compete for the title.

“So far it looks good because we will be finished building the new car sooner than ever before.”

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