Helmut Marko has taken a fresh dig at Lewis Hamilton ahead of his Ferrari debut. More than a year after announcing his seismic move to F1’s most illustrious team, the seven-time world champion will finally don red at a grand prix at this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Hamilton endured a disappointing final season with Mercedes and was often outperformed by team-mate George Russell. That led to questions being raised about his motivation levels after almost two decades in F1. The 40-year-old insists he feels reinvigorated by his move to Ferrari, who arguably boast the strongest driver line-up on the grid. However, he faces a stern test against team-mate Charles Leclerc, widely regarded as the best qualifier in the sport.

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Qualifying has been Hamilton’s weakness in recent years. He has had just one pole since 2021 and was routinely beaten on a Saturday by Russell last season. Outspoken Red Bull advisor Marko says it will be crucial for Hamilton to keep pace with Leclerc as quickly as possible.

“In Bahrain [testing], Leclerc was the much faster one,” Marko told sport.de. “But that’s normal. He knows the team, he knows the car. Hamilton drove a lot of laps, gradually improved, but was not quite at Leclerc’s level.”Manchester United unveil plans to build new 100,000-seater stadium to replace Old Trafford

On the importance of qualifying, Marko said: “One is a world champion, the other is chasing his first title, but is one of the best qualifiers. And because the field is relatively close together, three or four tenths of a second difference in qualifying can make up three to five grid positions.

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“And you know how difficult overtaking is these days. So from this point of view, it is crucial for Hamilton to be able to evaluate the first qualifying sessions on equal footing with Leclerc. But that’s certainly not easy.”

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Marko reckons Hamilton’s motivation could be sapped if he struggles to keep pace with Leclerc on a Saturday. The Max Verstappen ally added: “As I said, these are early days. And again, Hamilton can both supernaturally improve, but it could also be that if the factors don’t fit together, he sees no chance of winning, that he then loses some of his motivation. ”

”While Red Bull had an underwhelming pre-season test in Bahrain, Marko said he expected more of Ferrari, who appear to be a step behind constructors’ champions McLaren. He said via GP Blog during the test: “Ferrari was a little disappointing because we expected more from them.”